Habeas Corpses
by superlc529
Summary: It started out as an ordinary case... but turned into one they all will never forget. Our favorite detectives and author investigate the murder of a lawyer that leads to some pretty interesting revelations. Caskett.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: This is my first attempt at a Castle fanfiction and I hope I do all of the characters justice. I'm more well-known in the fanfiction world for my Smallville/Clois stories, but once I got into Castle, I just needed to write something for it. I just can't get enough of this phenomenal show! :D There is of course some cute Caskett in here. ;)

The idea for this story came to me after re-watching certain episodes from both Season 1 and 2. I hope you enjoy it. I started writing this story wayyyyy before Season 3 started and thus, this takes place in a completely alternate Season 3. Castle comes back from the Hamptons in the way I thought it'd happen and goes from there. Please review and tell me what you think!

This is the tagline I thought of for it: _It started out as an ordinary case... but turned into one they all will never forget._ If any of you are interested, one of my VERY artistic and amazing friends made a poster for this story and you can find the link to the image in my profile. Well, without further adieu, I give you my first ever Castle story...

Habeas Corpses

**Prologue**

The sun glistened on the sidewalk on a sunny September day. It was a stark contrast to the murkiness of the alley. A few kids ran through the alley playing tag, enjoying the rest of their weekend before having to go back to school. One of the boys tripped over something and instead of helping, his friends just laughed.

"Hey!," he picked himself up and dusted himself off, "It's not funny."

"It sorta is, dude," one of his friends high-fived the kid next to him.

"What did you trip over anyway? Your feet?," the only girl of the group asked. She was clearly being sarcastic.

"No," he looked insulted and looked back at what he had tripped over, "Somebody better call the cops."

"What is it?," everyone peered over their friend's shoulder to discover a body lying in between the dumpsters, "Gross!"

* * *

**Castle's Loft**

Castle took a deep breath with his arms raised, "It sure feels good to be back here."

"It's great to see you too, Dad," Alexis smirked and embraced her dad in his open arms, "So how was the rest of your time in the Hamptons?"

"Eh, it was okay," Castle shrugged, "I finished _Naked Heat_ so I guess it wasn't a total loss… it was a little lonely though."

"I thought you said somebody was going with you," Alexis was confused.

Castle sighed and looked to his daughter. He never told her that he brought his second ex-wife Gina up with him. After a week, he was ready to tear his hair out and was reminded why he divorced her in the first place. Not to mention, she complained the whole time about how he never stopped talking about a certain woman detective. He shook his head as if it would shake those thoughts out of his head. She was with Demming – he had to let it go.

"Dad?," Alexis prodded. He still hadn't answered.

"She had to come back to the city, so I was left up there to just write," Castle finally answered, "I know you called me every day, but I do want to hear all about _Princeton_ again."

"Yeah! Of course," Alexis said and looked at her watch, "Wait, shouldn't you be headed down to the precinct?"

"I was about ready to head back," Castle defended himself.

"Quit stalling, Dad. I'm sure everybody will be glad to see you," Alexis smiled, trying to cheer him up. She let out a long sigh when he didn't reply, "Well, I'd love to stick around and see you off, but I have some plans at the mall with some of my friends. I'll tell you all about my summer again later."

She got up and hugged her dad before heading out the door. Castle watched her leave, Alexis' words about everyone being glad to see him ringing in his ears. To an empty room, he answered, "Me too."

* * *

**12th Precinct**

Kate Beckett pushed herself away from her desk. She just finished all of the paperwork she had to catch up on. She pinched the bridge of her nose and blinked rapidly, she was dead tired. It took forever to wrap up their latest case. She couldn't help but look longingly at the vacant chair next to her desk. Castle was coming back today. She couldn't help but wonder what he'd say to her when he came back. Did anything happen between him and his ex-wife? What did she care anyway? He was a grown-up – well sort of. She closed her eyes and sighed.

_When she opened her eyes again, the precinct was dark and she shot straight out of her chair – her hand on the butt of her gun. What was going on? She spun around in a circle to see if anything would make sense. The lights flickered back on and in Castle's chair was Castle except…_

"_Castle?,"Beckett shrieked. He was lying in his chair with his eyes wide, staring blankly at her. Blood stained the front of his shirt in circles the size of bullet holes. The crimson color grew on his shirt. She jumped over to him and applied pressure to the wounds, "Castle? Come on, I can't lose you."_

"_Kate," Castle said, "Why couldn't you save me?"_

"_What?," Beckett looked frantic, "What are you talking about?"_

_Kate turned her head and saw Gina with a smoking gun in her hand, "Finally… now his books will sell even more."_

_Kate couldn't believe her eyes, she turned her attention back to Castle. With tears threatening to fall, she whispered, "Castle?"_

"_Beckett…," Castle started again. He said it again and again. After a few times, his voice sounded a lot like Esposito's. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion._

"Beckett!," Esposito yelled and Beckett jumped. She looked back to Castle's chair. It was vacant of a dying writer. Esposito looked a little concerned, "You okay, boss?"

"Huh?," Kate was still a little disoriented from her dream. What in the hell did it mean? She looked back up at Esposito, "I'm-I'm fine, Esposito. Thanks."

"Sleeping at your desk, huh?," Ryan came up to them, "Did you even go home last night?"

"No, I had to finish up our paperwork from our last case," Beckett shook her head.

"You know, you coulda just taken care of that this morning instead," Esposito said as she handed him the file of the paperwork she just finished.

"But by now, I wouldn't feel like it," Beckett stood up.

"Ohhh, I get it," Ryan nodded.

"What?," Beckett asked.

"You just wanted to make sure you had nothing to do this morning because Castle comes back today," Ryan smirked.

"You're insane, Ryan," Beckett moved past him to go get some coffee.

"Bro, what's wrong with you?," Esposito shook his head and walked away. Ryan sighed and followed his partner. He could never make a joke.

A few moments later, Castle entered the precinct. He saw Ryan and Esposito heading for the break room, "Guys!"

"Hey, Castle!," Ryan smiled and Esposito did the same.

"How are you, man?," Esposito gave him a "cool guy" hug, followed by Ryan.

"Eh, I can't complain," Castle shrugged, "I'm just glad to be back here."

"How were the Hamptons?," Ryan asked.

"A little boring," Castle frowned and shrugged, "All I did was write. I managed to finish my new Nikki Heat book though, so it wasn't a total loss."

Ryan and Esposito just nodded. They could tell that he was trying his hardest to avoid asking about Beckett. An uncomfortable silence fell over the group. Castle couldn't take it anymore, "So… how's Detective Beckett?"

"How about you ask her yourself, Castle?," Beckett appeared by his side with the fresh cup of coffee she had just poured.

"How are you?," Castle asked. Ryan and Esposito made an excuse to leave the two alone.

"I got a lot done over the summer," Beckett replied, "It's amazing how much you can accomplish without someone staring at you while doing paperwork."

"I got a lot done too," Castle ignored her little dig. At least they were falling back into their usual banter, "I finished _Naked Heat_."

"Even with Gina?," Beckett asked. She swore to herself that she wasn't going to bring her up, but the words just slipped out. Now that they were out there, she couldn't take them back. Besides, her desire to know all the facts about everything won over. She was a detective after all, she couldn't help it.

"She left after about a week," Castle told her, "So it was just me up there."

"Well then, why didn't you call?," Beckett asked. Yet another question she needed to know the answer to and swore to herself she wouldn't ask. So far she was two for two.

"I, uh," Castle was at a loss for words – a rarity. Beckett had her eyebrows raised, waiting for an answer, but before he could say anything else, her cell phone rang.

She gave him a look to let him know that he would eventually have to answer and opened her phone, "Beckett."

"Looks like we have a case," Beckett hung up after a moment and started walking. Castle remained where he was standing. She turned back, "I know it's been a few months, Castle, but this is the part where we go to the crime scene. You coming?"

"Right, yeah," Castle followed her out as Ryan and Esposito joined them.

* * *

**Crime Scene**

"So, what do you got for me?," Beckett asked Lanie. She was knelt over the body. Castle, Esposito, and Ryan stood around her.

"Well, I'm fine, thanks for asking," Lanie retorted.

"Sorry," Beckett apologized.

"Forget it, I was just messing with you," Lanie answered, "Levity needs to be put in these situations since Castle left."

"Lanie, I'm right here," Castle waved.

"Sorry, didn't notice," Lanie fake laughed, "Maybe if you had called, I would've seen you."

Castle glared, "Could we move on please?"

"Gladly," Lanie stood up and turned professional, "Some kids found him here while they were playing tag. He doesn't have any ID on him. All we know so far is he's an unidentified Caucasian male. I'd say he's probably in his mid-to-late 30s."

"COD?," Esposito joined in the conversation.

"Gunshot-wounds," Lanie leaned down and used her pen to lift up the vic's suit jacket, "Two of them – one to the chest and the other into the liver."

"Ouch," Castle commented.

Lanie ignored him and kept going, "I'd say by the size of these bullet holes it was .22-caliber and close range."

"Where are the blood stains?," Ryan asked, walking around the body as he took notes in his notepad.

"Not here," Lanie shook her head.

"He was killed somewhere else and moved here," Beckett concluded.

"Mm-hmm," Lanie nodded.

"Can you estimate the time of death?," Beckett asked.

"Based on temperature, I'd say anywhere from 11:30pm to 1:30am this morning," Lanie answered, "But I might be able to narrow it down some once I get him back to the lab."

"We'll run his prints to see if he's in the system," Esposito said.

"Okay, you and Ryan take care of that," Beckett agreed, "Castle and I will head back to the precinct and set up the murder board. Call if and when you find anything out."

"You got it, boss," Ryan mock-saluted. Ryan and Esposito started engaging in a conversation with Lanie as Beckett led Castle back to the car.

"That guy doesn't look like the type to be roaming around at night alone," Castle commented once they got in the car.

"Well, we don't know enough to be making any assumptions about him, Castle," Beckett replied, "You can't judge a book by its cover. You of all people should know that."

She grinned and Castle called her out on it, "Fun-ny, and a grin… nice to see you haven't lost your sense of humor over the summer."

"A lot of things happened over the summer," Beckett started the engine and pulled out onto the main road.

"Yes, how _are_ you and Demming?," Castle asked. He tried to leave out the venom in his voice when he said the other detective's name, but like Beckett's nature to need to know everything – he failed.

Beckett turned to Castle for a second before switching her gaze back to the road, "If you need to know, _Tom_ and I broke up."

"Oh," Castle was definitely not expecting that, "Uh, I'm sorry."

"Thanks," Beckett tightened her grip on the wheel a little. She didn't want to re-visit the subject and was grateful when he didn't harp on it. A silence fell in the car. They were almost back to the precinct when Beckett couldn't help but ask, "Was that why you didn't call?"

"Was what why I didn't call?," Castle didn't connect the dots.

"Did you not call any of us because you thought I was still with Demming?," Beckett asked sincerely.

She was expecting some sort of egotistical answer or Rick making it into a joke. Kate was taken by surprise when he truthfully replied, "Yes."

She really didn't know what to say to that, so they silently decided to leave it at that and arrived back at the precinct. After a few moments, they got to the murder board. Just as she was about to write, "VIC" on the board with the COD and ETD, her cell rang from her pocket, "Beckett."

"_Yo, got the info on the vic," Esposito started._

"Go," Beckett ordered as she put him on speakerphone so Castle could hear.

"_Found him in our system. The vic's name is Charles Sullivan," Esposito said and Ryan continued. They were clearly using speakerphone too, "He's a lawyer."_

"So what was he doing in the system?," Castle asked.

"_He would sometimes find himself in contempt of court," Ryan answered._

"Do we know of any next of kin?," Beckett asked.

"_Yeah, he's got a wife and daughter in Manhattan," Esposito nodded as if she could see him, "Ryan'll text you the address."_

"All right," Beckett said, "Castle and I will go down there while you two see if you can find out anything suspicious in his financials."

"_Aye aye," Ryan and Esposito replied before hanging up._

She hung up and put her phone back in her pocket. Castle was looking down, "Castle? You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Castle nodded, "I guess I've just come to dread this part as much as you have." Beckett put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder and entered the elevator with him following.

* * *

**Outside of _Manhattan's Apartments_**

"They weren't really creative when they came up with the name of this apartment building, huh?," Castle asked as he and Beckett made their way up to Sullivan's old apartment building.

"That's what you're going to take away from this visit?," Beckett rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm just making a statement," Castle shook his head, "Calling your apartment building, _Manhattan's Apartments_ in Manhattan just isn't very creative."

"Well, we all can't be best-selling novelists, Castle," Beckett grinned, "Focus on why we're here."

"I am," Castle assured her, "You should know by now that I like making jokes when I'm a little uncomfortable, Detective."

"I should, but you've been gone," Beckett said and entered the elevator to go up to Sullivan's wife's address Ryan texted her on the way.

Those words shouldn't have hurt, but they did. He wanted to give Beckett space to be with Demming if that's what she wanted and so he went to the Hamptons with Gina. Now he wasn't with his ex-wife and Kate wasn't with Demming. They wasted a lot of time. For once, he remained silent on the elevator ride and continued to stay silent until Beckett knocked on the apartment door.

"Hello?," a blonde woman answered the door tentatively.

Beckett held up her badge, "I'm Detective Kate Beckett, I have some news about your husband. May I come in?"

"Yes, of course," she opened the door wider and beckoned Beckett and Castle inside, "Is there something wrong, Detective?"

"I'm sorry to inform you that we found your husband's body this morning," Kate answered. She really hated this part.

"Body?," his wife was nearing hysterics. Castle jumped in and sat down next to her on their couch. He left his hand on the woman's shoulder. Her eyes darted back and forth, "He's dead?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Sullivan," Beckett said.

"Please," Mrs. Sullivan tried to compose herself with a sniff, "Call me Charlotte, please."

"Okay, Charlotte," Beckett started, "Do you know where your husband was last night between 11:30pm and 1:30am?"

"He was working at his firm pretty late," Charlotte answered between sniffs. Castle had handed her a tissue, "He called me at about ten to tell me he was going to stay, maybe sleep at the office."

"Did he do that often?," Castle questioned.

"Only when he was working on a pretty important case," Charlotte turned to him, "He wasn't having an affair if that's what you were insinuating."

"He didn't mean to offend you, Charlotte," Beckett assured her. She knew Castle was just going over all the possibilities. If he hadn't asked, it would've been the next question she would've asked, "Was that the last time you heard from your husband?"

"Uh-huh," Charlotte nodded, "He could've gone anywhere after that, but I'm pretty sure he'd stay at his firm. He never liked to go out at night if he could avoid it."

"What case was he working on?," Castle asked.

"Some big-time underworld guy, I think," Charlotte waved her hand in the air.

"Could you maybe be more specific?," Beckett edged on and Castle continued, "Like a name?"

"No," she shook her head, "Charlie tried to keep us in the dark about those types of cases. He wanted to make sure that in case anything went wrong we wouldn't know anything and we wouldn't get hurt… but now…"

"If you can think of anything else, feel free to call," Beckett handed her a card and stood up, followed by Castle. They nodded a goodbye to Charlotte and headed out the door. Before they got to the elevator, she stopped them, "Detective!"

"Yes?," Beckett turned around, "Charlie would always tend to keep us in the dark about his cases, but our daughter tends to find out anyway."

"How do we get in contact with her?," Castle asked.

"Right now she's at the mall," Charlotte answered.

"Just how old is your daughter?," Beckett folded her arms.

"She's sixteen," Charlotte replied, "She's at the mall with her friends… uh, I think their names are Paige and… oh, what was that other girl's name? She's really sweet… _Alexis_, her other friend's name is Alexis."

Beckett looked to Castle as he widened his eyes, "Alexis?"

**TBC**

So? What do you guys think? You like it so far? I know that it's a bit of a slow start, but believe me - the pace will pick up and there will be plenty of twists. I hope to make it feel like an episode and above all, for you to enjoy it. :) Please review and let me know what you guys think. I appreciate each and every review! Reviews are what keep me going. I have no idea what my update schedule will be, but as soon as I figure out a good day to post new chapters, I'll let you know. Just so you guys know in advance, I split this 89-paged story into a prologue (what you just read), 15 chapters, and an epilogue all varying in length!

Thank you to those of you who are just reading as well! I appreciate you too!

Caskett Forever! :D


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: Wow! I'm glad to see that you all are enjoying this story so far and you enjoyed my little twist at the end of the prologue. I can guarantee that there will be plenty of more twists in this story and I hope you all enjoy them and think that they're unique. I tried to make this story seem like an episode and I hope I'll continue to accomplish that. Also, I think it is fair to warn those of you who aren't familiar with my stories that some of the time... I love to end chapters with evil cliffhangers. :P Sometimes I just leave you wanting more, but other times they can be evil cliffhangers and the Smallville/Clois fans can attest to that. ;)

All right, enough with my rambling... you guys wanna read Chapter 1 of _Habeas Corpses_. Well, who am I to stop you? I hope you enjoy and please tell me what you think!

_Previously in **Habeas Corpses**..._

_"If you can think of anything else, feel free to call," Beckett handed her a card and stood up, followed by Castle. They nodded a goodbye to Charlotte and headed out the door. Before they got to the elevator, she stopped them, "Detective!"_

_"Yes?," Beckett turned around, "Charlie would always tend to keep us in the dark about his cases, but our daughter tends to find out anyway."_

_"How do we get in contact with her?," Castle asked._

_"Right now she's at the mall," Charlotte answered._

_"Just how old is your daughter?," Beckett folded her arms._

_"She's sixteen," Charlotte replied, "She's at the mall with her friends… uh, I think their names are Paige and… oh, what was that other girl's name? She's really sweet… Alexis, her other friend's name is Alexis."_

_Beckett looked to Castle as he widened his eyes, "Alexis?"_

_

* * *

_

Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 1**

**Beckett's Car**

"I can't believe Alexis is friends with the daughter of one of our vics," Castle shook his head.

"Neither can I," Beckett mirrored his action, "You sure about the mall they said they were going to?"

"They always go to the same one," Castle answered. Beckett gave him a look and he shrugged. That was a pathetic answer, "What? If she was going anywhere else, Alexis would let me know, she's far more responsible than I am."

"That's for sure," Beckett mumbled, turning her eyes back to the road, "Where'd she get that from?"

"I really have no idea," Castle said, "She didn't get it from Meredith or me… or my mom."

"Maybe it came from your dad," Beckett said without thinking. When Castle remained silent, she closed her eyes for a split second and turned to Castle, "I'm sorry, Castle. I didn't…"

"No, it's okay," Castle put his hand up and gave her a small smile, "I know what you meant."

"So, is Alexis going to think it's weird that you show up at the mall where her friends are with me?," Beckett asked as they pulled into a parking space.

"Maybe, but it's for an investigation," Castle got out of the car.

"Did you at least text her to warn her that we were coming?," Beckett asked as she came around the car to join Castle.

"I probably should have done that, huh?," Castle took out his phone. Beckett gave him a look that said, 'You think?' before starting for the mall entrance as Castle texted and walked.

* * *

**Food Court**

"How much longer until you said Alexis would join us with her friends?," Beckett looked at her watch for the millionth time.

"Just a few more minutes," Castle replied as he finished chewing a hot dog he bought. He looked around the mall, "God, I haven't been here in ages."

"Me either," Beckett said. They fell into a comfortable silence when Alexis, Paige, and Sullivan's daughter came up behind them.

"Dad? Detective Beckett?," Alexis got their attention.

"Alexis said you needed to talk to me?," Sullivan's daughter asked.

"Are you Charles Sullivan's daughter?," Beckett wanted to make sure before she said anything.

"Yes, I'm Christy Sullivan," Christy nodded and held out her hand for Kate to take, "I'm guessing that there's something wrong. Alexis made us hurry out of the bookstore to come meet with you."

"Yes, I'm afraid I have some bad news about your father, Christy," Beckett started slowly, "This morning… we found your father's body."

"What?," Christy took a step back as Alexis put reassuring hands on her shoulders, a look of shock was mirrored on her features.

"Your mother said he was working late at his firm and that he was working on some big case," Beckett started.

"She told us your father tried to keep you two in the dark about those sort of things, but that you eventually find out," Castle continued for Beckett and she did the same in return, "Do you know what case he was working on?"

Christy shifted her eyes back and forth, "I started to look into it. I know I'm not supposed to, but I really like law and I got interested."

"She wants to be a lawyer when she grows up," Alexis provided for her.

"Do you think maybe we should discuss this down at the station?," Christy asked, turning a little bit more professional. The grief was still in her eyes, but she knew she could help more if she talked in private and that's exactly what she was going to do.

"Yeah," Beckett nodded, "Castle, why don't you take Alexis and her other friend home and we'll meet up later?"

"I've got a car actually, so I can drive home myself," Paige said and nodded a goodbye.

"Come on, pumpkin," Castle put his arm around Alexis as Beckett led Christy in the other direction.

"Do you think she'll be okay?," Alexis looked back at her friend.

"She's in good hands," Castle smiled.

* * *

**Castle's Loft**

"What's going to happen to Christy?," Alexis asked as they entered their apartment.

"Beckett is going to try and find out what her dad was working on so we can get one step closer to find out who her dad's killer was," Castle answered, "And Christy will go home to her mother."

"I didn't mean that, Dad," Alexis sighed, "I mean _what_ is going to happen to her?"

The meaning of her question sunk in, "She'll be okay eventually, sweetie. She still has her mom. She's strong."

"It's just… I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to… to happen to…," Alexis couldn't bring herself to say it. Castle knew what she meant and embraced her in a bear-hug, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"I'm here," Castle soothed her, "And I'm not going anywhere."

They stayed embraced in each other's arms until there was a knock on the door. Alexis let go of him so he could answer it.

"Hey, Castle," Ryan was at the door.

"Can we come in, man?," Esposito came into view as Castle widened the door.

"Of course," Castle beckoned them in, "Is everything okay?"

"Beckett told us to come pick you up and save you a drive," Ryan explained, "And so we could brief you more on some of the details of the case."

"Christy? Is she okay?," Alexis came running up behind her dad.

"She's fine," Esposito nodded, looking at Alexis, "Her mom picked her up a few minutes ago. She told us to tell you to take good notes for her to copy at school tomorrow."

"Yeah," Alexis nodded. Christy had good reason for not going to school the next day.

"I'll see you later, sweetie," Castle started out the door with Ryan and Esposito, but Alexis stopped him, "Can I come with you?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Castle shook his head, "I don't want you more involved in this than you already are."

"But I might be able to help," Alexis started pleading her case, "Remember when Hayley Blue was murdered? I helped, maybe I can help again."

"I don't think-," Castle started, but Esposito cut him off, "It's okay, Castle. We're not doing any field work right now, just basic research down at the precinct."

"All right," Castle motioned for her to come and as he was closing the door he finished, "But if I or any of the detectives tell you to go home, no arguments." She nodded and the four of them were on the way back to the precinct.

* * *

**12th Precinct**

"I see you brought a plus one," Beckett noticed Alexis arrive with the boys.

"I wanted to tag along and see if there was anything I could help with," Alexis explained.

"Well, right now, all we're doing is researching a little more on Christy's dad," Beckett said, "Did you ever meet him?"

"Once," Alexis replied.

"When?," Castle never knew that.

"He picked Christy up once at a party that we both went to," Alexis said, "I only talked to him for a few minutes."

"What party?," Castle was going into 'father mode' and Esposito, Ryan, and Beckett had to hide their grins.

"A chaperoned party, Dad," Alexis rolled her eyes. Like she'd go to any other kind of party, "I told you about it… you were at your laptop."

"I was writing," Castle said.

"Oh, sorry," Alexis bit her lip.

"What does him writing have anything to do with him not knowing if you told him?," Ryan asked.

"When he's writing and he's on a roll, you could launch a rocket in the room and he won't hear it," Alexis explained.

"As stimulating of conversation as this is, we're getting off-subject," Beckett brought everyone back, "Did you and Ryan look into his financials?"

"Yup, and everything came out as it should," Esposito shrugged and Ryan continued, "There wasn't anything there that raised a red flag."

"Did you find out anything on what the case was he was investigating?," Alexis wanted to join in.

"Not much more info than what his wife told us," Beckett shook her head.

"Did Christy at least give a name?," Castle asked.

"No," Beckett shook her head, "I think our best bet is to go down to his firm."

"That means field work," Castle said quickly and looked to Alexis. She got the hint, "Fine… I'll see you at home, Dad."

Once Alexis was out of earshot, Esposito turned to Castle, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to get rid of your daughter, Castle."

"I don't want her any more involved in this than she already is," Castle shook his head, "This isn't like when we were investigating the murder of Hayley Blue. She's actually met our vic and she's close to his daughter."

"We understand, Castle, you're just being a dad," Beckett backed him up, "Now come on, let's head down to his firm and see what we can dig up. You guys should see if you can pull off anything useful from his SIM card and also see if Lanie has anything new."

"Sure thing, boss," Ryan nodded as Castle and Beckett headed out again.

* * *

**Morgue**

Lanie Parish was examining the body of Charles Sullivan when Ryan and Esposito walked in. Esposito let her know they were there, "Lanie, you got anything new for us?"

"Nice timing, boys," Lanie looked up, "I was just about to call you."

"Yeah? So, you _do_ have something new for us," Ryan walked up to the medical examiner and the body, Esposito close behind.

"I do," Lanie nodded and led them over to the magnifying glass.

"Letters on the slugs again?," Esposito leaned over, "I hope this doesn't mean we have another Dunn case."

"I don't think so," Lanie shook her head, "There are only two of them and they're just letters: "B and J" – maybe they're initials of somebody he knew?"

"Or maybe it was some kinda message," Ryan theorized, "It could be the initials of the killer's next target."

"Did anything come up in your investigation with some associate with the initials BJ?," Lanie asked, stepping away from the magnifying glass.

"Not so far," Esposito shrugged, "But we'll keep a lookout."

"We'll look into it now," Ryan said, "But you should call Beckett and tell her about what you found."

"Will do, Detective," Lanie smiled with a nod. As soon as Esposito and Ryan left the morgue, Lanie shook her head and went back to studying their victim, "Why is it my girl always gets the crazy ones?"

**TBC**

Well? I hope you guys liked this next chapter. I hope the pace feels like an episode, but if not, don't worry, it'll pick up some steam soon... and for those of you wondering where Martha is? She'll show up, I promise. :D Please review and tell me what you think of the story so far! Was anybody expecting letters on the slugs again? :P

Thank you to those of you who are just reading as well! I appreciate you too!

Caskett Forever! :D


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: This story has been getting an amazing response and I feel very proud. I wasn't sure what type of a response it would get... it's a pretty unique storyline, I believe. ;) If anybody is interested, one of my friends made a trailer on YouTube to go with this story... it shows more elements of what to come. :D You can find the link to the trailer on my profile page! :) Chapter 2 starts getting the plot in motion, I hope you'll see what I mean and I hope you enjoy. Please reply/review and tell me how I'm doing. :)

By the way, I apologize if there are any inconsistencies in actual police/detective terminology. I just wrote off of what I remembered from the show and I don't know if they were used in the right context... it shouldn't take away from the general enjoyment of the story, so read away. ;) :)

_Previously in **Habeas Corpses**..._

_"Letters on the slugs again?," Esposito leaned over, "I hope this doesn't mean we have another Dunn case."_

_"I don't think so," Lanie shook her head, "There are only two of them and they're just letters: "B and J" – maybe they're initials of somebody he knew?"_

_"Or maybe it was some kinda message," Ryan theorized, "It could be the initials of the killer's next target."_

_"Did anything come up in your investigation with some associate with the initials BJ?," Lanie asked, stepping away from the magnifying glass._

_"Not so far," Esposito shrugged, "But we'll keep a lookout."_

_"We'll look into it now," Ryan said, "But you should call Beckett and tell her about what you found."_

_"Will do, Detective," Lanie smiled with a nod. As soon as Esposito and Ryan left the morgue, Lanie shook her head and went back to studying their victim, "Why is it my girl always gets the crazy ones?"_

_

* * *

_

Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 2**

**_Sullivan and Johnson_ Law Firm**

"Looks like he had a partner," Castle observed as they started to walk up to the building's entrance, "Why is it whenever people are partnered up, they always go with the last name that comes last in the alphabet to go first?"

"How do you come up with those kinds of things?," Beckett asked. After she thought about it, she realized that pretty much every example she could think of, that was the case: Woodward and Bernstein, Regis and Kelly, Lane and Kent, Ryan and Esposito, Castle and Beckett…

"I just like to point out the obvious," Castle shrugged with a smirk, "It's not my fault that the obvious isn't obvious to most people… I hope this guy can help though."

"Let's hope they were sharing this case," Beckett nodded. Castle opened the door for her and then followed her inside.

The front desk was typical of a law firm. Castle looked around and took note of the cold room. The color scheme seemed to be black, gray, and/or white. Castle turned to Beckett as they approached the front desk, "Not very warm, is it?"

"It's a law firm, what did you expect?," Beckett replied out of the corner of her mouth as she flashed her badge at the secretary, "Hi, I'm Detective Kate Beckett, could I speak to Mr. William Johnson please?"

"Certainly," the secretary nodded, "He'll see you in a minute. You can take a seat over there while you wait." She nodded to a leather bench on the other end of the room.

"Thank you," Beckett nodded and went to go sit down with Castle on her tail.

"Do you think that our victim could've been some type of hit for whatever case he was working on?," Castle asked, his head leaning against the wall and turned to Kate.

"What brought that on?," Beckett looked intrigued.

"I don't know," Castle turned his head to look forward once again, "I've just got this gut feeling…"

Beckett was about to say something in response, but Castle interrupted her by finishing his line of thought, "Of course, that might just be indigestion from that hot dog I had in the food court."

Kate turned her head to hide her amused smile. She looked up when the secretary stood in front of them, "Detective? Mr. Johnson can see you now."

She led them down a long hallway filled with inspirational posters to Mr. Johnson's office. It was adjacent to Sullivan's. The secretary turned around before opening the door, "Just go right inside."

Beckett nodded and went inside as the secretary returned to her desk. Mr. Johnson's office was about as warm as the front reception area. The color scheme was even the same. Castle noticed that the lawyer didn't even seem to have any personal pictures on his desk.

"Detective Beckett, I assume?," Johnson stood up and walked around his desk to take Kate's hand in a handshake.

"Yes," Kate took his hand and then motioned to Rick, "And this is Richard Castle."

"Oh, I know," Johnson nodded, "Your little crime-fighting team is famous."

"_Team_?," Beckett's eyebrows disappeared into her bangs; Castle smirked. She shook her head, "Anyway, we're here investigating the murder of your partner Charles Sullivan."

"Ah, yes, I heard what happened," Johnson's expression changed, "I can't believe he's gone. Have you found the murderer yet?"

"Not yet," Beckett shook her head, "But we were hoping that you might be able to shed some light on the case he was working on."

"We think that what happened to him might be connected to his case," Castle finished for her.

"That's a big possibility," Johnson nodded, seeing their reasoning.

"Were you two working on the same case?," Beckett asked.

"_Us_? No," he shook his head, "We would sometimes share cases, but his most recent one… no, that one he wanted all to himself."

"Any particular reason?," Beckett cocked her head to the side.

"I think he said that it was personal," Johnson replied.

"How late was Sullivan working?," Castle asked.

"Pretty late," Johnson replied, "I left here close to eleven and he was still in his office… His case should still be in there actually. I can let you in there if you need."

"That'd be great," Beckett nodded as she and Castle followed Johnson out into the hallway and into Sullivan's old office.

"If you have any questions, just let me know," Johnson said, "I have to be in court in a few minutes, but take my card and feel free to call if you need anything."

"And you can do the same," Beckett held out her card. He took hers as she did the same to his. Johnson closed the door leaving Kate and Rick in the empty office.

"So much for him working on the same case," Castle sighed and started to sift through papers on the desk.

"I know, but something tells me that he knew more about what we were talking about than he was letting on," Beckett said as she opened one of the filing cabinets lining the wall.

"You think he was lying?," Castle sat in the chair to continue looking through all the papers.

"He was really quick to answer," Kate nodded, "Plus, he wouldn't give me eye contact. And if he didn't know what case Sullivan was working on, then he wouldn't have any reason to believe that it could be connected to his murder. I'm sure whatever case he was working on, it must've been high-profile."

"Sullivan's wife did say that she thought it had to do with some big-time guy in the underworld. Maybe he was trying to take down the mob and somebody decided to take him out first," Castle theorized.

"Maybe," Beckett bit her lip, "I wonder why he said this case was personal to Sullivan."

"Some deal he had to work out?," Castle started bouncing off ideas, "Or maybe he needed to close a huge case to get a raise or a promotion?"

"I don't know," Beckett shook her head, "Did you find anything over there in that mountain of paperwork?"

"Not yet," Castle kept looking when something caught his eye, "Hel-lo, what's this?"

"What?," Beckett closed the filing cabinet and leaned over his shoulder just enough so he could smell cherries.

"It seems I found the case he was working on. It's dated for a week ago," Castle held up the manila folder.

"He was defending a little bistro?," Beckett raised a disbelieving brow.

"Yeah," Castle said.

"That doesn't exactly scream 'high-profile', does it?," Beckett stood up and went back to the cabinet to keep searching.

"Maybe not, but let's see what he was defending the little bistro from, hmm?," Castle flapped the folder and began reading, "Ah! Looks like Sullivan was defending the bistro against the mob."

"You got that from _that_?," Beckett closed the cabinet again and pointed to the folder, "How'd you get a mob connection in there?"

"Isn't it obvious?," Castle raised his eyebrow.

"Why don't you enlighten me?," Beckett folded her arms.

"Little diners and bistros are always being picked on by criminals," Castle started, "And these criminals, usually mob members, approach the owners and say they're there to offer protection… which usually means that the owner needs to pay them so they won't do anything to their place. The owner of this little bistro must've not wanted to give in, so he came to Sullivan to defend him and his place."

"And you got all of this from a few lines in a file that you _just_ found and of which you have no background information on?," Beckett cocked her head to the side with her arms folded, "Or did you get that from your knowledge on Batman comics?"

"Very funny, I'm telling you that it has to do with the mob," Castle assured her, "We just need to prove it… what say we visit this little bistro?"

"Hungry, Castle?," Beckett turned around and started for the door.

"That hot dog wasn't very filling and I think it gave me heartburn," Castle defended himself, fisting his chest, as he followed her out the door.

* * *

**12th Precinct**

"Why did we come back here? I thought we were going to follow up on that restaurant from Sullivan's file," Castle whined as they joined Ryan and Esposito by the whiteboard.

"Because even though your little theories and crazy scenarios sometimes turn out to be true, we have to get all the facts first about this little bistro before we go investigate it," Beckett replied, "And where better to do that than back here?"

"Any luck at Sullivan's firm?," Ryan asked.

"A little, we're about to follow up on it right now," Beckett nodded, "How about you? Anything interesting on his SIM card?"

"Nada," Esposito shook his head, "All the calls he made didn't raise any red flags in the system and he didn't call any of them repeatedly except for home."

"Talk about no life," Castle quipped.

"Hmm… Did Lanie have anything new?," Beckett ignored him and went to the next order of business.

"She didn't call you?," Esposito asked.

"Noooo," Beckett stood straighter, "Was she supposed to?"

"Yeah," Ryan nodded, "She found some letters on the two slugs."

"Letters?," Beckett's voice squeaked, "Don't tell me this is another Dunn case."

"No," Esposito shook his head," That's what I initially thought too, but there were just two letters, "B and J" – we think it might be the initials of somebody Sullivan knew."

"But we didn't come across anybody with those initials in our findings," Ryan sighed, folding one of Castle's Derrick Storm books into his chest, "Did you?"

"Wait a minute. Johnson, Sullivan's partner," Castle looked like inspiration struck and then his shoulders sagged when he realized, "But his first name is William."

"Bill is a nickname for William," Beckett said and turned to Ryan and Esposito, "Get uniforms to go pick him up and make sure he's safe."

"On it," Ryan nodded and jumped to do as he was told.

"Castle? You okay, man?," Esposito noticed that Castle seemed to be lost in thought.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Castle assured him, "I was just thinking."

"Don't do that, Castle, you might hurt yourself," Beckett grinned.

"Ha ha," Castle glared. She smirked and got up to get some coffee before she started research on the bistro Castle saw in the file. Esposito patted Castle on the back and joined Beckett to the espresso machine for some coffee. Castle bit his lip. A detail was niggling at him from when he was sitting at Sullivan's desk, "What was that on his desk? It looked familiar."

Before Castle could ponder further, Beckett's phone vibrated on her desk. Castle looked around and didn't notice Kate coming back yet. He figured it'd be okay to answer, "Beckett's phone, Castle speaking."

_"Castle? Where's Kate?," Lanie was on the other end._

"She went to fuel up on coffee and she left her phone on her desk," Castle answered, "If you're calling about the letters on the slugs, we know, Ryan and Esposito just told us."

_"That's good," Lanie smiled, "I got caught up with a few things here and didn't get a chance to call you. I hope you weren't worried."_

"Nah, it's all good," Castle assured her, "We think we may even know who the mysterious "BJ" is…. Sullivan's partner."

_"That's interesting," Lanie could be heard fiddling around with something in the morgue. She stopped and sighed. Castle could tell that she was wrestling with something. After another brief moment, she continued, "Uh, Castle, do you think you could come down here?"_

"Uh, sure, I'll get Kate," Castle stood up, but Lanie's voice stopped him, _"No, Castle, I don't mean Kate, just **you**."_

"Is everything okay?," Castle was starting to get a little worried as he sat back down.

_"I hope so," Lanie sighed, "Get down here as soon as you get a chance."_

They hung up just as Beckett and Esposito came back with their coffee. Beckett held another cup for Castle. She noticed Castle putting her phone down, "Was somebody on the phone?"

"Yeah, it was just Lanie," Castle took the second coffee mug from her.

"She call to tell us about the initials on the slugs?," Beckett assumed.

"Uh-huh," Castle nodded, "She got caught up with some other things around the morgue and didn't get around to calling us."

"Well, I'm glad that at least everything was okay," Beckett replied. Castle nodded distractedly, "You okay, Castle?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Castle lied, "You know what? I think I'm gonna head out a little early."

"_You're_ leaving early?," Beckett didn't believe it.

"Yeah, it was a pretty trying day," Castle said and put his untouched coffee down on her desk, "Plus, I'm still pretty beat from coming back from the Hamptons. Call me later and let me know if you find anything interesting on that bistro."

"Uh, okay," Beckett was taken aback. Esposito looked a little suspicious too. Castle grabbed his jacket and put it on. Beckett stopped him by putting her hand on his arm, "You sure everything's okay?"

"Positive," Castle lied again, "I'll see you guys later, okay?"

And with that, Castle left to go to the morgue to see what Lanie had to tell him.

**TBC**

Hmm... what could Lanie possibly have to tell Castle? Whatever it is, it must be important to not want Kate involved. ;) The trailer might give that little something away... *looks innocent* Please reply and tell me what you guys think! I hope you all are enjoying this story. And just repeating what I said in the author's note above in case anybody skipped over it: one of my very talented friends made a trailer to accompany the story. The link to it can be found in my profile page. 8-)

Thank you to those of you who are just reading as well! I appreciate you too!

Caskett Forever! ;) :D


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: So, some of you thought that was an evil cliffhanger? LOL, well I guess it was, but believe me - you ain't seen nothing yet. :P I'm glad that everybody who is reading this story seems to be enjoying it very much so. And I'm glad that I've seemed to have accomplished making this story feel like an episode and I've been able to keep everyone in-character. I think I may have come up with an updating schedule. Now, keep in mind that this is subject to change... I'm thinking that I'll post an update some time on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and either on Saturday or Sunday. It could basically be any time on these days and most likely, I might not update on Thursdays, so it'll probably be Tuesdays and one day on the weekend. Keep time zone differences in account for those of you out of the country.

Okay, enough with my rambling, you all wanna read Chapter 3... here you go:

_Previously in **Habeas Corpses**..._

_They hung up just as Beckett and Esposito came back with their coffee. Beckett held another cup for Castle. She noticed Castle putting her phone down, "Was somebody on the phone?"_

_"Yeah, it was just Lanie," Castle took the second coffee mug from her._

_"She call to tell us about the initials on the slugs?," Beckett assumed._

_"Uh-huh," Castle nodded, "She got caught up with some other things around the morgue and didn't get around to calling us."_

_"Well, I'm glad that at least everything was okay," Beckett replied. Castle nodded distractedly, "You okay, Castle?"_

_"Yeah, I'm fine," Castle lied, "You know what? I think I'm gonna head out a little early."_

_"You're leaving early?," Beckett didn't believe it._

_"Yeah, it was a pretty trying day," Castle said and put his untouched coffee down on her desk, "Plus, I'm still pretty beat from coming back from the Hamptons. Call me later and let me know if you find anything interesting on that bistro."_

_"Uh, okay," Beckett was taken aback. Esposito looked a little suspicious too. Castle grabbed his jacket and put it on. Beckett stopped him by putting her hand on his arm, "You sure everything's okay?"_

_"Positive," Castle lied again, "I'll see you guys later, okay?"_

_And with that, Castle left to go to the morgue to see what Lanie had to tell him._

_

* * *

_

Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 3**

**Morgue**

"Castle," Lanie greeted him as he rushed into the morgue, "Thanks for getting down here so quickly."

"No problem," Castle shrugged, "Is everything all right?"

"I'm not sure," Lanie sighed and signaled him to follow her. She led him over to the magnifying glass.

He looked at the letters on the slugs, "I know I'm missing something here. These are just the letters on the slugs that Esposito and Ryan told us about, right?"

"Yes," Lanie started, but Castle cut her off, "And we think we know whose initials those belong to – his law partner William 'Bill' Johnson."

"Could you let me say what I wanted to say?," Lanie was getting frustrated and Castle theatrically shut his mouth, "I wanted to say, that I don't think the initials are supposed to be "BJ"."

"You think it's the other way around? "JB"?," Castle assumed.

"But there wasn't anybody in our investigation with those initials," Castle shook his head confused, "Wait, why do you think the letters are supposed to be switched?"

"Because, I automatically thought about it alphabetically," Lanie started to walk away from the magnifying glass and back over to the body.

"But," Castle prodded.

"But I hadn't thought about the order of the bullets in which the killer shot Sullivan," Lanie explained and pointed to each spot on the body respectively, "The bullet with the letter 'J' went in first – into the liver and the second one 'B' went to the chest."

"So, he was dead before the second one even hit his chest?," Castle asked.

"Yeah," Lanie nodded, "I didn't see it before."

"So, why didn't you want Beckett to come down here for this? Why only me?," Castle touched his chest.

"Come here," Lanie gave him the 'come hither' motion with her finger. He followed her over to her desk with Sullivan's file on it, "The only other time I've come across the victim being killed by some strike to the liver was with Coonan."

"So, that could just be some big coincidence," Castle wasn't following.

"In this field, Castle, there are no coincidences," Lanie shook her head, "So, I did my own brand of police work."

"What'd you find?," Castle folded his arms.

"There are a couple other murders from last year that you two weren't on that had a killing involving the liver," Lanie said, "I looked into those and each one of their professions had something to do with protecting the people."

"I must be missing something," Castle shook his head.

"None of those cases had letters on anything involved with the murder, but they all had to do with the liver," Lanie continued, "It's like this killer has some sort of calling card."

"But you said that had to do with other murders," Castle said, "Weren't their killers caught?"

"They closed the cases – they just attributed them to gang violence. They couldn't find anything out of the ordinary about them," Lanie replied, "I think there might be some sort of new assassin out there that changes the tactics of each murder, but makes each of their victims die from some malfunction of the liver."

"Then what were you saying before about how there are no coincidences when I mentioned Coonan? He's dead, isn't he?," Castle was confused.

"Maybe somebody hired a new player to take his place, but decided to make his MO similar," Lanie theorized.

"And if that's the case, then the case we're working on now might somehow be connected to the man who ordered the hit on Kate's mother," Castle started to follow her.

Lanie didn't call him out on the fact that he used Beckett's first name. She just nodded in reply, "Exactly."

"So, what do we do?," Castle asked, "Do we tell her?"

"I don't want to tell her unless we're absolutely certain," Lanie shook her head, "There's no need for her to go through having to look through her mom's murder again if we're wrong. She went through hell those first three years as a cop… and then with what happened with Coonan? I'm not doing that to my girl again."

"I don't want to go on lying to her though," Castle said, "I'm still on thin ice from the first time I looked into her mother's case."

"But I don't want to worry her if I'm wrong, Castle," Lanie put her hand on his arm, "Promise me you won't say anything to her."

"I," Castle opened and closed his mouth.

"Cast-le?," Lanie prodded, giving him a look.

He sighed, "I promise… so what do you want me to do from here?"

"I was thinking that you could try to look into it a little more with your vast resources and all the people you know," Lanie got a hopeful expression on her face.

"I don't know if I can without Beckett getting suspicious," Castle replied.

"Oh, come on, Castle," Lanie didn't believe him, "You were able to get a ton of information on Kate's mother's murder without her even suspecting you were looking into it before."

"Good point," Castle sighed and then something struck him, "That's it."

"What's it?," Lanie furrowed her eyebrows.

"Some little detail was niggling at me about something I found on Sullivan's desk," Castle said.

"What was it?," Lanie was interested.

"A number on one of the papers on his desk," Castle said, his eyes shifting back and forth as he tried to recall the exact number.

"What number?," Lanie edged him on.

"48508250854-JKL," Castle replied slowly as he recalled it.

"What number is that?," Lanie asked.

"The number to Johanna Beckett's post-mortem narrative," Castle said with realization.

"Oh my," Lanie put her hand to her mouth, "How did you memorize that long of a number?"

"I looked at it enough when I was investigating," Castle replied, "Plus, as a writer, I have a thing for details."

"JB," Lanie realized, "Do you think that stands for Johanna Beckett?"

"Maybe," Castle bit his lip, "But why would he decide to send a message about it with this particular murder?"

"I don't know," Lanie shook her head, "So, Sullivan was looking into Kate's mother's murder? Why?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Castle looked determined.

"Castle, remember, don't say anything to Kate unless you're one-hundred and fifty percent sure," Lanie reminded him, "The only reason I told you is because I thought I could use a little extra help."

"Well, I appreciate you bringing me in on it," Castle nodded, "And I won't tell Kate… as long as you won't either."

"Right," Lanie smiled, "Get to it, Writer Boy, and let me know what you find out."

"Will do," Castle nodded as he headed out the door.

"Castle!," Lanie called out to him. He turned around and raised his eyebrows expectantly for her to continue, "Please be careful."

"You too," Castle replied and left the morgue.

* * *

**Castle's Loft**

"Dad!," Alexis enveloped Castle in an attack-hug.

"Oomph," Castle let out an awkward breath as Alexis ran into him, "Is everything okay, sweetheart?"

"Where have you been?," Alexis looked up at him, not letting go.

"What do you mean?," Castle was confused.

"Detective Beckett called a little while ago and said you left the precinct to come home early," Alexis told him.

"And," Castle didn't see why that would result in the attack-hug he received.

"_And_ you didn't come home," Alexis said, "I was getting worried."

"I stopped off somewhere else first," Castle said as she let go of her father, "Besides, I thought I was the parent. Aren't I supposed to be the over-bearing, over-protecting one?"

"Since when?," Alexis folded her arms.

"Right," Castle opened the fridge to pull out a water bottle. Castle turned his head to start making a snack when he heard Alexis talking and she wasn't talking to him. She was on the phone, "Who are you talking to?"

"Detective Beckett," Alexis moved the mouth-piece away from her mouth.

"Why?," Castle asked.

"I told her I'd call her when you got home," Alexis replied and handed him the phone, "Here."

"Hell-o?," Castle put the phone to his ear.

_"Take a detour home, Castle?," Beckett laughed on the other end._

"Yeah," Castle replied, "I told you I was hungry."

_"Don't tell me you went to that bistro that was in Sullivan's files without me," Beckett hoped she was wrong._

"Why? You want to save it for a date?," Castle played with her.

_"Castle," Beckett bit._

"Relax, Detective, I was only joking," Castle put his hand up in mock surrender even though she couldn't see him, "I didn't go there."

_"You're not lying, are you?," Beckett didn't trust him after all the stunts he's pulled in the past._

"I'm not lying. I swear," Castle swore.

_"Okay," Beckett nodded._

"Were you worried about me, Beckett?," Castle asked.

_"What? Me? No, I wasn't worried about you," Beckett scoffed, "Alexis was worried about you when you didn't come home right away."_

"Righttt," Castle loved to tease her.

_"The boys have Johnson here to see if they can get any more information from him," Beckett said._

"Okay," Castle replied.

_"Anyway, if you're not too full and if you tell your daughter, I was about to head out to that bistro myself to see what we can find out," Beckett told him, "You in?"_

"Yeah, of course," Castle nodded enthusiastically, "I'll meet you there as soon as I can."

_"Okay," Beckett smiled, "And Castle?"_

"Yeah?," Castle asked.

_"Don't take any detours," Beckett teased._

"Scout's honor," Castle smiled and hung up, "Alexis! Pumpkin! I'm headed back down to the precinct."

"Already? But you just got back?," Alexis appeared at the top of the stairs.

"I know, but Beckett and I have a lead on a possible connection to Mr. Sullivan's murder," Castle explained as she came further down the stairs.

"What time will you be back?," Alexis asked, playing the parent.

"I don't know, probably late," Castle shrugged, "Don't wait up for me, it's a school night."

"Okay," Alexis sighed dejectedly, "But promise me that when you get home, you'll come in my room and kiss me goodnight? Even if it's really really late?"

"Have I ever let my daughter down before?," Castle grinned and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "See you later, sweetie."

"See you, Dad," Alexis smiled and trotted back up the stairs. As Castle turned around, he grabbed his keys and opened the door, "Mother?"

"Hey, kiddo," Martha opened her arms, "Doesn't your mother get a hug?"

"What are you doing home?," Castle gave her a hug.

"What? No, 'How are you?', 'How'd it go?', 'How do you manage to look so young?'?," Martha asked.

"Sorry, but I don't know about that last question," Castle apologized and as usual, he had to get in his usual dig at his mother.

"Oh, shush," Martha hit him with her gloves and walked in the apartment.

He helped her in with her bags, "But really, Mother, I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow. Your show had an extended run until now, right?"

"Yes. And it was a rousing success," Martha explained, flailing her hands dramatically and then shrugged, "I got back early."

"Gram!," Alexis ran down the stairs and hugged her grandmother, "I thought I heard your voice down here."

"Hello, sweetheart," Martha returned the hug.

"How'd your play go? I heard it was a brilliant success," Alexis beamed.

"It was," Martha nodded.

"I'm gonna leave you two ladies to catching up," Castle said, "Alexis, you can fill Mother in and I'll see you two later."

Castle left his apartment, a little grateful that his mom returned early from her tour. At least this way Alexis wouldn't be alone in a huge apartment. He hoped the little bistro that was ironically named _Little Bistro_, would give them some sort of lead to Sullivan's killer… and to the man who ordered the hit on Johanna Beckett.

**TBC**

**

* * *

**

First off, I apologize if there are inconsistencies in medical facts like with the shot to the liver. I'm not that far yet in my studies, plus, I'm going in for veterinary medicine, not humans. :P

Congrats to those of you who were thinking that "BJ" was actually "JB" - I tried not to make it too obvious... but the trailer probably gave it away. ;) There are other aspects of that trailer that will be making an appearance, but that's still to come. Please review! Tell me what you think! Did you like this chapter? Can you wait for the next chapter? ;) Can you wait for the new episode of Castle, _Anatomy of a Murder_ on Monday? I know I can't. :P Seriously, though, please leave a reply if you can and let me know how I'm doing... maybe I'll get inspired to write another Castle story on top of my new Smallville one. ;)

Thank you to those of you who are just reading as well! I appreciate you too!

Clois and Caskett Forever! ;) :D


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: Looks like the cat's out of the bag about the story... it heavily involves Johanna Beckett's murder and who ordered the hit. I hope you all will like the twist I put on it. I think it's pretty original. ;) I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but chapter 5 is a little lengthier and there's a much more evil cliffhanger at the end of chapter 5. :P I'm _planning_ on posting it some time on Tuesday, but I'm not sure exactly what time on Tuesday because of my classes, homework, and studying. Please comment and let me know what you think! I need to know that you guys are liking this... or not. ;) :)

Here's Chapter 4:

_Previously in **Habeas Corpses**..._

_"Gram!," Alexis ran down the stairs and hugged her grandmother, "I thought I heard your voice down here."_

_"Hello, sweetheart," Martha returned the hug._

_"How'd your play go? I heard it was a brilliant success," Alexis beamed._

_"It was," Martha nodded._

_"I'm gonna leave you two ladies to catching up," Castle said, "Alexis, you can fill Mother in and I'll see you two later."_

_Castle left his apartment, a little grateful that his mom returned early from her tour. At least this way Alexis wouldn't be alone in a huge apartment. He hoped the little bistro that was ironically named **Little Bistro**, would give them some sort of lead to Sullivan's killer… and to the man who ordered the hit on Johanna Beckett._

_

* * *

_

Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 4**

**_Little Bistro_**

"I thought you said you weren't going to take any detours, Castle?," Beckett asked as he approached her, "Though I can't say I'm surprised, you never were a scout, were you?"

"You're never going to let that go, are you?," Castle asked, thinking back to their first case ever.

"No," Beckett smirked.

As they headed toward the entrance, Castle felt the need to explain himself, "And for your information, I didn't take a detour, I was derailed from leaving right away after I hung up."

"Yeah, how?," Beckett folded her arms.

"My mother came home," Castle replied with a cocky smile.

"Oh," Beckett was embarrassed, "How'd her show go?"

"Good, she came back early," Castle explained, "Apparently it was a big success."

"That's great," Beckett smiled, trying to mask the red growing on her cheeks from assuming another reason for Castle's tardiness.

"Is that the owner?," Castle nodded to a tall and thin man with a little black mustache, fitting the stereotype of a French restaurant owner.

"Mr. Martin?," Beckett spoke up as she nodded to answer Castle's question.

"Oui?," Martin looked up and shook his head. His French accent was apparent, "I'm sorry, Madame? May I 'elp you?"

"Yes, we're here investigating the murder of your lawyer, Mr. Charles Sullivan," Beckett flashed him her badge, "Could we have a word?"

"Oui, of course," Martin nodded and led them into the kitchen in the back, "I just 'eard what 'appened."

"When's the last time you saw Mr. Sullivan?," Beckett was in full-detective mode.

"Uhh, I believe it was the other day… in the morning," Martin replied.

"Did he seem different?," Castle asked, "Like maybe somebody was after him?"

"Somebody was after 'im?," Martin grew alarmed.

"We're not positive, Mr. Martin," Beckett put her hands up and glared at Castle. There was no need to scare him even if it was true, "But did he seem distracted at all when you saw him?"

Mr. Martin looked down as he was thinking and then looked back up, "Now that you mention it, I think 'e was acting a bit odd."

"Was he distracted by something? Bothered?," Castle asked even when Beckett gave him a look again.

"'e didn't begin to act odd until another man entered the room at 'is office," Martin replied, his French accent still coming through, "We were in a meeting."

"Who came in the room?," Beckett asked.

"I do not know," Martin shrugged, "A big guy."

"Big? Could you be more specific?," Castle prodded.

"Tall," Martin replied, trying to think of the adjectives in English, "Big muscles, some gray 'air…"

"Mr. Martin?," Beckett cut him off, "Would you mind coming down to the precinct to work with a sketch artist?"

"I don't think I should leave my bistro," Martin looked uneasy.

"It's all right, Mr. Martin," Castle assured him, "The man that interrupted you and Mr. Sullivan won't know you were the one to give the description, you'll be okay."

Martin sighed, "All right, I will close up shop 'ere and will come with you to the police station."

"Thank you, Mr. Martin," Beckett nodded. Her phone buzzed and she gave an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, I have to take this… Castle could you wait for Mr. Martin and I'll meet you at the car?"

"Yeah," Castle nodded. Beckett gave them both a nod and headed outside. Castle looked around the kitchen and Martin noticed.

"Are you 'ungry, monsieur?," Martin asked politely.

"A little," Castle smiled, "Could I grab something to eat?"

"I'll have the chef make something for you while I close up," Martin smiled with a nod, "On the house."

"Thanks," Castle smiled.

* * *

"What do you have for me?," Beckett asked once she was outside.

_"Nothing new," Ryan sighed on the other end and Esposito continued, "Johnson didn't tell us anything that we didn't already know. I think he may truly be in the dark about the case Sullivan was working on... or he's lying."_

"It might be a bit of both. It was worth a shot," Beckett replied.

_"Did you and Castle get any luck with the bistro owner?," Esposito asked._

"I think we did," Beckett nodded, "We're bringing him into the station to work with a sketch artist. Apparently, a large man interrupted his and Sullivan's meeting the morning before his death."

_"Sounds like a lead to me," Ryan said._

"I was thinking the same thing," Beckett replied.

_"We'll see you guys when you get here." Esposito answered._

"See you guys soon," Beckett nodded as they both hung up.

* * *

"Sir?," Martin handed him his food. Castle just finished texting Beckett to tell her they were on their way out.

"Yes?," Castle accepted the food.

"There was something I over'eard when I left Monsieur Sullivan's office with that big man," Martin looked a little uneasy.

"What was it?," Castle's interest was piqued.

"They were talking about something Monsieur Sullivan was looking into. I think it might 'ave been another case," Martin said, "Something about a murder… I thought I 'eard him say, 'You'll stop looking if you know what's good for you.' – after I 'eard that, I left."

"Sounds like a threat to me," Castle said, "The sooner we get your description, the sooner we can catch his killer."

"Thank you," Martin thanked Castle for opening the door for him. As Martin locked up, Castle had a minute to think. Martin said the mysterious stranger threatened Sullivan about looking into something – it must have been Johanna Beckett's murder.

_"Maybe Sullivan was getting close to figuring out who ordered the hit," Castle thought, "Or maybe our mystery man **is** the man who ordered the hit… I'll have to talk to Lanie later once we get this guy's description."_

"Castle?," Beckett brought his attention back.

"Huh?," Castle looked up.

"You've been getting lost in thought a lot, Castle," Beckett said. This time she looked genuinely concerned, "Are you _sure_ everything is all right?"

"Couldn't be better," Castle lied once again with a smile. The three of them got into the car. Castle looked down as Beckett pulled out to head back to the precinct. If there was one thing he hated – it was lying to Katherine Beckett.

* * *

**12th Precinct**

Martin was miming features to the sketch artist in the other room. Beckett and Castle were watching him by their murder board. They stood in comfortable silence for a minute until Beckett broke it, "What do you think about this mystery man that had an impromptu meeting with our vic?"

"I'm not sure," Castle shook his head, "But I think there's a fairly good chance he's connected to the murder somehow."

"So far, it looks like this case is nothing but dead ends," Ryan came up behind them.

"Yeah, it's like this Sullivan guy didn't have any social life outside of his family and firm," Esposito commented.

"Something tells me that our mystery man will be a good lead," Beckett replied. She took a breath and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You okay?," Castle asked.

"Yeah," Beckett sighed, "I guess I'm just a little tired… that's all. I hate these kinds of cases."

"Me too," Esposito nodded, "Come on, let's fuel up on some more coffee while the bistro owner finishes up with the sketch artist."

"Good idea. I could use a pick-me-up," Castle commented and started to follow his friends into the break room when he heard, "Dad! Dad! Dad!" coming from his pocket, "Ooo, sounds like Alexis is trying to get my attention. Could you grab me a cup, guys?"

"Yeah," Ryan nodded.

Castle put the phone to his ear, "Hey, sweetheart, are you okay?"

_"Yeah, it's just getting late. Are you coming back soon?," Alexis asked._

"I think so," Castle replied. He knew this case was rattling her more than the others. The sooner this case was over the better, "Is everything okay at home?"

_"Yeah," Alexis replied, "Gram's here, so I'm good."_

"That's good," Castle nodded again, "Is something else bothering you, pumpkin?"

_"I don't know," Alexis bit her lip, "There's just something about this case that I can't explain."_

"What do you mean?," Castle sat up.

_"It's like I got this weird feeling about it," Alexis replied, miming with her hands, "I don't know how to explain it."_

"Teenager's intuition?," Castle teased.

_"Dad," she chided._

"Only teasing, sweetheart," Castle smirked. He sat up further when he saw Martin stand up and shake the sketch artist's hand, "Sweetie, I'm gonna have to let you go. I'm gonna make a pit-stop before I come home, but I should head out of here soon."

_"Okay," Alexis said and asked again, "Promise me you'll come into my room and kiss me goodnight when you get home even if it's really really late?"_

"I promise," Castle nodded, "Love you."

_"Love you too… 'Night, Dad," Alexis hung up._

**TBC**

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Ooo! A mystery man! Any of you agree with Castle? Could it possibly be the big boss? The man who ordered the hit on Johanna Beckett? What about Alexis' uneasy feeling? Think there's any merit to it? ;) Please leave a comment and tell me what you think of the story! I'm loving all the reviews so far! Smallville and Castle fans unite! lol

Thank you to those of you who are just reading as well! I appreciate you too!

Clois and Caskett Forever! ;) :D


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: You guys know what they say, "Trust your gut." - there might be a little merit behind Alexis' uneasy feeling. ;) Thanks, everybody! I still can't believe the great response this story is getting and I thank you all for it. Now, this chapter is a _little_ bit lengthier than the last and there is an evil cliffhanger at the end of this one. :P Prepare yourselves... all right, without further adieu, here's Chapter 5:

_Previously in **Habeas Corpses**..._

_Castle put the phone to his ear, "Hey, sweetheart, are you okay?"_

**_"Yeah, it's just getting late. Are you coming back soon?," Alexis asked._**

_"I think so," Castle replied. He knew this case was rattling her more than the others. The sooner this case was over the better, "Is everything okay at home?"_

**_"Yeah," Alexis replied, "Gram's here, so I'm good."_**

_"That's good," Castle nodded again, "Is something else bothering you, pumpkin?"_

**_"I don't know," Alexis bit her lip, "There's just something about this case that I can't explain."_**

_"What do you mean?," Castle sat up._

**_"It's like I got this weird feeling about it," Alexis replied, miming with her hands, "I don't know how to explain it."_**

_"Teenager's intuition?," Castle teased._

**_"Dad," she chided._**

_"Only teasing, sweetheart," Castle smirked. He sat up further when he saw Martin stand up and shake the sketch artist's hand, "Sweetie, I'm gonna have to let you go. I'm gonna make a pit-stop before I come home, but I should head out of here soon."_

**_"Okay," Alexis said and asked again, "Promise me you'll come into my room and kiss me goodnight when you get home even if it's really really late?"_**

_"I promise," Castle nodded, "Love you."_

**_"Love you too… 'Night, Dad," Alexis hung up._**

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Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 5**

Castle turned around to look into the break room. They were still getting the coffees. The espresso machine must've needed some time to warm up. Martin came out of the room with the sketch artist and looked around like he didn't know what to do with himself, "Mr. Martin? You can just stay here and wait for Detective Beckett if you want."

"Thank you," Martin nodded.

The sketch artist handed Castle the drawing of their suspect and went on his way. Castle nodded a thank you at him and thought out loud, "Hmm, this guy looks intimidating."

"Yes," Martin replied, thinking Castle was directing his comment at him.

Not a moment later, the three detectives made their way back over to Castle and Martin. Beckett handed Castle his coffee as she took a sip and he handed her the sketch. She looked to Martin, "This him?"

"As close as you can get than a picture," Martin nodded, "Am I done 'ere? Could I go back 'ome now?"

"Yeah, we'll contact you if we need anything else," Ryan nodded. Martin respectfully nodded at the other two detectives and went on his way.

"Esposito? Take this down to the records and see if you can find a match," Beckett ordered.

"On it," Esposito nodded.

"I'll help," Castle jumped in and followed Esposito like a little kid going to the candy store.

"Castle's been acting a little strange lately," Ryan remarked and looked to Beckett, "Don't you think?"

"Yeah, a little more than usual," Beckett looked at Castle following Esposito with a suspicious glint in her eye, "Come on, let's look at Sullivan's case again and see if we can find any out of place names that might lead to the identity of our mystery man."

* * *

"So are we just gonna look through mug shots?," Castle asked when they finally got down to the records department.

"Sorta," Esposito replied and handed Castle the sketch as he went into a box.

"Hey, could I get a copy of this sketch?," Castle asked.

Now Esposito knew something was up, "Okay, Castle. What's going on? You've been acting pretty strangely for the past couple of hours."

"N-Nothing's going on," Castle shook his head, "I just thought maybe I could take a copy of the sketch and see if any of my resources might know who it is."

"You mean one of your connections?," Esposito folded his arms.

"Yeah," Castle nodded, holding the sketch to his chest.

"Fine," Esposito grabbed the sketch pad away from Castle, "But only because we've had nothing but dead ends on this case."

"Thank yo-," Castle started, but Esposito interrupted, "Just know that if you _are_ up to something, I'll find out."

Castle gave him an uneasy smile as he followed Esposito once again. As they were walking, Castle was thinking, _"Why is it so hard to be inconspicuous this time? Lanie made a good point before. I was able to look into Beckett's mother's murder without any suspicion. Granted, Esposito was the one that gave me the case file, but that's not the point. Maybe it's because I've been working with them longer and they know me better."_

Esposito brought Castle out of his thoughts by handing him the copy of the sketch, "You find anything out and you let us know right away."

"Of course," Castle nodded, "I'll get on it later… I'm gonna head home now. Alexis was worried about me before."

"I mean it, Castle," Esposito raised a pointed finger at him, "_As soon_ as you find something… the sooner we solve this case the better. It's giving everybody a hard time."

"You can say that again," Castle replied, "I'll see you later."

"Night, Castle," Esposito nodded as Castle turned around to leave. He took out his phone and texted Ryan: _Bro, I think Castle's up to something. Meet me in the Records DPT._

* * *

Ryan looked up from his phone and glanced over at Beckett. She was wrapped up in looking at the case Sullivan was working on – she didn't even notice, "Beckett?"

"Yeah?," she didn't even look up.

"I'm gonna head down to help Esposito," Ryan got up, "I'll see you later."

"All right… Have a good night, Ryan," Beckett waved. Ryan gave her a nod and walked briskly in the direction of the elevators to get to Esposito.

Beckett looked up – suspicious. Everybody was acting a little out of the ordinary about this case. She stood up and then sat back down shaking her head, _"I'm being ridiculous. If something was up, they'd tell me. Now, back to this case and see if there's any mention of another party other than Martin."_

* * *

**Morgue**

"Lanie? Lanie? You down here?," Castle entered the morgue, "Come on, Lanie, if you're down here, please answer. I don't like a quiet and creepy morgue."

Castle walked around the morgue for a few minutes and he still didn't hear a reply from Lanie, "Maybe she went to the bathroom or something."

"Castle?," someone tapped Castle on the shoulder and he screamed.

"God," Castle put his hand on his chest, "Perlmutter, you scared me."

"What are you doing down here this late?," the other medical examiner asked.

"I was looking for Dr. Parish," Castle said.

"She went home about an hour ago," Perlmutter replied and went back to whatever body he was working on.

"Oh, thanks," Castle replied and when he didn't get an answer, as per usual, he muttered under his breath, "No wonder he works with dead bodies all day."

Castle walked outside and scrolled through his contacts until he found Lanie's name and pressed 'send' on his phone, "Lanie? It's Castle."

_"Oh, what's up, Writer Boy?," Lanie answered, "You find something interesting?"_

"I think so," Castle said, looking at the sketch, "I came down to the morgue, but Perlmutter said you went home and I realized that I don't know where you live."

* * *

**Lanie's Apartment**

"Hey," Lanie opened the door for Castle, "Whatcha got for me?"

"A lead," Castle held up the sketch as Lanie closed her door, "At least we all hope so."

"Who is he?," Lanie asked as she took the sketch from him.

"Our mystery man," Castle replied, putting his hands on his hips and gestured to the sketch, "Apparently while Mr. Martin, our vic's client, was in a meeting with Sullivan, this guy interrupted… Martin overheard him say to Sullivan: '_You'll stop looking if you know what's good for you.'_ I think he was talking about Johanna's murder."

"Hmm, any idea who he is yet?," Lanie asked, handing it back to Castle.

"Not yet," Castle shook his head, "Esposito's looking through some boxes to see if he's in their records… and based on the looks of that guy, I'm sure we'll find him. I think it could possibly be the man that ordered the hits on Beckett's mother and Sullivan."

"You're sticking with your hit theory?," Lanie smirked.

"Yup, odds are I'm bound to be right one of these days… Have you found anything else out about the other murders?," Castle asked.

"No," Lanie shook her head, "But there's no denying that it's a new hire killing these people in the same manner as Coonan used to, maybe it's even more than one guy, except this time – it's a different blow to the liver each time like I thought before. The cases are too connected for it to be anything else."

"Why do you think Sullivan was looking into Beckett's mother's murder?," Castle asked as he folded the sketch and put it in his jacket pocket.

"Maybe he knew her somehow," Lanie shrugged, "Both of em were lawyers."

"Yeah," Castle nodded. Lanie could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he continued, "Maybe their paths had crossed years ago and they were friends. He's been looking into her murder all this time and just now started to get close to find out who ordered the hit. Maybe the bistro doesn't have anything to do with why he was murdered, it could all be connected to Beckett's mother."

"I think you're on to something, Castle," Lanie nodded, "After all the evidence we've got piled up, we should tell Kate tomorrow… first thing."

"Agreed," Castle nodded and went for the sketch in his pocket, "You want me to keep the sketch or should you?"

"You keep it," Lanie put her hand up, "Maybe it'll spark something in that mind of yours."

"I'll look into more of Sullivan's background and see if he might have gone to school with Beckett's mother," Castle said as Lanie opened the door for him.

"You sure you don't have a detective in the family, Castle?," Lanie teased, "You sure think like one."

"I guess I've been hanging around all of you long enough for something to rub off on me," Castle smiled.

"I guess so," Lanie laughed with a shake of her head, "Night, Castle."

"Until tomorrow, Dr. Parish," Castle nodded. Lanie closed the door and Castle made his way out of the apartment building.

* * *

Castle exited Lanie's apartment building and hailed a cab to get back to his apartment. He failed to notice two detectives watching him.

"What's Castle doing at Lanie's apartment?," Esposito sat up straighter after Castle left in his cab.

"I don't know," Ryan shrugged, "Maybe they're working together on something."

"But we're all working together on this case," Esposito argued, "You don't think they'd keep something from us do you?"

"Anything's possible with Castle, I guess," Ryan replied, "But I don't see Lanie going along with it."

"Let's see," Esposito started to think logically, "Castle didn't start to act strangely until after Lanie called to tell Beckett and him about the letters on the slugs. Maybe…"

"Maybe Lanie told Castle something else about some detail about the victim and she told him not to share," Ryan finished Esposito's line of thought.

"Come on," Esposito opened the door, "Let's see what Lanie has to say about all this."

Ryan got out and followed his partner into Lanie's building. Both of them were so caught up in Castle's weird behavior, they both failed to notice the third pair of eyes that was watching Castle intently. And while they were talking, they also failed to notice the owner of that pair of eyes follow Castle in the cab closely.

* * *

**Castle's Loft**

Castle entered his loft and threw his keys on the table by the door. He shrugged off his jacket, took the sketch out of the inside pocket, and hung it up. He went over to the kitchen and dropped the folded sketch on the kitchen counter. Rick took a deep breath, lost in thought, staring off into space. He stood up straighter and started to walk out of the kitchen to go kiss Alexis goodnight when he heard a cock of a gun. Castle whipped around and found himself staring down the barrel of a .22-caliber.

"Can I help you?," Castle kept his cool, but inside his chest, his heart was beating harder than a marching band's drums.

"You were expecting me?," the man asked, never lowering his weapon.

"Can't say that I was," Castle shook his head, "I am wondering as to why you are here… I can guarantee you that we never thought of you as a link to your partner's murder."

"No?," Johnson asked, stepping closer to Castle, gun closer aimed at his chest.

"No," Castle shook his head. When Johnson looked down for a second, Castle averted his eyes to make sure Alexis wasn't coming down the stairs. She didn't – she must be asleep already, "So, uh… maybe you could tell me what you're doing here."

"A job," Johnson cocked the gun to the side in a kill-shot. Castle shrunk back with a small, unnoticeable gulp, and closed his eyes.

**TBC**

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Told ya... I told you all it was an evil cliffie. Next chapter ends with another evil cliffhanger, but it's the twist I was talking about thrown in... Please comment on this and tell me what you think of the story/this chapter. What do you think of this turn of event? I'm not sure when I'll be posting chapter 6 - the professors have piled on the studying/homework-load. I'll try to get to it soon though - hopefully in a few days. ;) :)

Thank you to those of you who are just reading as well! I appreciate you too!

Clois and Caskett Forever! ;) :D


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: So, looks like I found some time to update today after all. I was going to wait until the weekend to update, but I figured that since I left you with an evil cliffie, the least I could do was at least _try_ to find time today to put you guys out of your misery. :P Chapter 6 is a little bit lengthier than chapter 5 and it also ends with another evil cliffhanger, though, I don't think it is _as_ evil as the last one - or maybe it's more evil, depends on what you think. ;) It introduces my BIG TWIST of the story and I hope you guys find it unique and intriguing. I don't think anybody has tackled something like this before in this fandom. Please comment and tell me what you think. :) Without further adieu, I give you chapter 6 to my story:

_Previously in **Habeas Corpses**..._

_Castle entered his loft and threw his keys on the table by the door. He shrugged off his jacket, took the sketch out of the inside pocket, and hung it up. He went over to the kitchen and dropped the folded sketch on the kitchen counter. Rick took a deep breath, lost in thought, staring off into space. He stood up straighter and started to walk out of the kitchen to go kiss Alexis goodnight when he heard a cock of a gun. Castle whipped around and found himself staring down the barrel of a .22-caliber._

_"Can I help you?," Castle kept his cool, but inside his chest, his heart was beating harder than a marching band's drums._

_"You were expecting me?," the man asked, never lowering his weapon._

_"Can't say that I was," Castle shook his head, "I am wondering as to why you are here… I can guarantee you that we never thought of you as a link to your partner's murder."_

_"No?," Johnson asked, stepping closer to Castle, gun closer aimed at his chest._

_"No," Castle shook his head. When Johnson looked down for a second, Castle averted his eyes to make sure Alexis wasn't coming down the stairs. She didn't – she must be asleep already, "So, uh… maybe you could tell me what you're doing here."_

_"A job," Johnson cocked the gun to the side in a kill-shot. Castle shrunk back with a small, unnoticeable gulp, and closed his eyes._

_

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Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 6**

Instead of feeling a hole in his body, Castle felt Johnson grab his arm, a knife sticking out in his hand, "We're gonna go on a little trip."

"Really? Well, I'm going to have to get back to you on that one," Castle said, "I wasn't expecting to go anywhere, my schedule is all booked up."

"Enough with the smartass remarks," Johnson tightened his grip. Part of the blade in Johnson's hand cut Castle's skin and some of his blood dropped on the folded sketch. The paper caught his eye, "What's that?"

"That?," Castle thought quickly, "It's nothing… I just took some paper out to write down a grocery list."

"A grocery list?," Johnson dug the blade deeper into Castle's skin.

"Yeah," Castle grimaced, "Just let me write a little something down."

"Any funny business and I'll cancel that trip and end you right here," Johnson released his grip on Castle with the knife and brought the gun back up, "The boss might not be happy with that, but it might be simpler than what he has planned… he likes the theatrics."

Castle gulped. His phone was in his jacket pocket and if he made too much noise, he might wake up his mother or daughter and he _definitely_ didn't want them to be in the same situation he currently found himself in. Quickly, he thought of something and hopefully it'd work. He grabbed a pencil off of the counter and wrote on the sketch above his blood droplets:

_Pumpkin, Cherries… Apples. Apples._

_ -RC_

Johnson looked to see what he wrote to make sure that he wasn't doing anything suspicious, "Why'd you write "Apples" twice? And why'd you initial it?"

"I really like apples. And it's just a force of habit after all the autographs I sign," Castle hoped he'd buy it. Johnson grabbed Castle's arm again, the blade cutting into his skin once again, splattering a little more blood on the kitchen table. Johnson didn't even seem to notice. Rick bit back a grunt from the pain the blade caused.

"Come with me quietly and you might make things easier on yourself," Johnson said as he pushed the barrel of the gun into Castle's side.

Rick closed his eyes and sighed. Hopefully Alexis would figure out something was wrong and would call Kate and the rest of his friends quickly. After a moment, he let Johnson take him out of his apartment to some unknown that awaited him.

* * *

**_The next day… early morning_**

**12th Precinct**

"Is there any particular reason why you guys decided to drag me down here at five o'clock in the morning?," Beckett rubbed at her eyes and looked to Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie sitting in front of her.

"We have some news about the case," Esposito said.

"Yeah? Then out with it," Beckett sat up straighter. She had no time for funny business.

"Actually, I've had new news about the case," Lanie cut Esposito off from continuing.

"I don't understand," Beckett shook her head.

"The letters on the slugs… I found out that it might actually stand for "JB" instead of "BJ" and then I found some connections of our case to some older other cases," Lanie started to explain.

"I'm a little tired, Lanie," Beckett closed her eyes, "Could you just get to the part where you withheld information from me?"

"It's because this case might be connected to your mother, Kate," Lanie said, "And I asked Castle to help."

"_That_'s why he was acting so weird," Beckett finally started to understand and looked to her teammates, "And how long have you two known about this little development?"

"Not long," Ryan replied, "We didn't find out until last night."

"So, you decided to bring me up to speed this morning? Did you think I couldn't handle it?," Beckett stood up, "Did Castle swear you to secrecy? Is that why he doesn't have the guts to show up here right now?"

"Beckett, calm down!," Esposito put his up and Lanie jumped in, "If you want to blame anybody for the secrecy, Kate, you can blame me."

"What?," Beckett's tone immediately softened.

"Like I said," Lanie said calmly and slowly, "_I_ was the one that brought Castle in with the information and _I'm_ the one who told him not to say anything until we were absolutely positive, until everything we had was solid… We didn't know how you would take the news so soon after everything with Coonan. I called Castle to come in this morning, but he didn't pick up."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lanie," Beckett looked down. Lanie shrugged and gave her a smile to let her know all was forgiven. Kate licked her lips and got to the issue at hand, "So, uh, why-why might this case might be connected to my mom? Did Castle find something?"

"It was a combination of my findings and Castle with his eye for details," Lanie said, "We think that Sullivan was looking into your mother's murder and that it was what got him killed – it probably had nothing to do with the case he was working on."

"Castle took the sketch of our mystery guy to see if any of his many connections might know who it is," Esposito explained and Ryan continued, "Maybe that's where he is right now."

"I appreciate you bringing me up to speed," Kate nodded, "And just so you all are clear, I can handle it… in fact, I was sort of hoping this would all come out soon. The sooner I find out who the son-of-a-bitch was that ordered the hit on my mother, the sooner I can rest easier."

"That's our boss," Esposito smiled, "You think we should try Castle again and see if he'll come in this early?"

"Yeah," Beckett took out her phone, but it was already vibrating. The caller ID said 'Castle' so she answered it, "Hey, Castle, I was just about to call you."

_"Detective Beckett?," Alexis' frightened voice was on the other line._

"Alexis?," Beckett grew alarmed and everybody looked up, the same concerned expression on their faces, "Alexis? What's wrong?"

_"I think something might have happened to my dad," Alexis said worriedly, "His stuff is here, his keys, his jacket, his phone… but he never came in to kiss me goodnight last night and…"_

"Slow down, sweetie," Kate said, putting her hand up. The endearment came naturally, "Is there something out of place in your apartment?"

_"That's what made me call," Alexis replied, "I got up extra early this morning before school to finish studying a little and… that's when I noticed it."_

"Noticed what?," Beckett asked. Her heart was in her throat. By this time, she already put her phone on speaker so everybody else could hear her.

_"I noticed some sort of note on the kitchen counter. It's my dad's handwriting… and it-it looks like there's… there's…," Alexis couldn't say it._

Beckett didn't even have to have Alexis finish her sentence. She knew exactly what she was talking about, "Okay, we're all on our way."

_"Wait! Detective Beckett… please don't make our apartment a crime scene just yet," Alexis said, "The paparazzi would have a field day. I just want to make sure that I'm not overreacting."_

"Okay," Beckett nodded, "But as soon as we're done looking around, I'm going to have to call it in if your dad is in danger, okay?"

_"Okay," Alexis nodded, "I'll let you in… Gram left last night after I talked to my dad. She decided to spend the night with her boyfriend Chet."_

"We're on our way," Beckett hung up, grabbed her keys, and made a bee-line for the elevators, her partners, and Lanie on her tail.

* * *

**Castle's Loft**

"Thank God you guys are here," Alexis opened the door. They didn't even have to knock. Alexis had been periodically opening the door every few minutes after she hung up.

"Of course and we're ready," Beckett said and raised her hands to show she was wearing blue latex gloves as to not get any fingerprints on anything. Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie had matching gloves. They all stepped inside and Kate said, "Show us that note."

"It's over here on the kitchen counter," Alexis led them over to the note.

"Blood," Esposito commented out of habit and then put his hand on Alexis' shoulder to apologize and reassure her everything was going to be fine.

"I didn't understand the note," Alexis shook her head, "I think it's in some sort of code… he initialed it."

"Pumpkin," Kate said, turning the note a little, smearing some of Castle's fallen blood on the kitchen counter, "Isn't that what he calls you sometimes?"

"Yeah, so he was addressing me," Alexis nodded, understanding a little, "But then, what do 'cherries' and 'apples' mean?"

"I think 'Cherries' is supposed to be me," Kate said, remembering back to that time when she was leaning over Castle's shoulder and he blurted out, _"You smell like cherries."_

"I'm gonna want a back story on that eventually," Lanie smirked and Esposito and Ryan fought back their smiles.

"What about the apples? Is that supposed to be us?," Ryan asked, "He wrote it twice."

"Dude, why would he call us 'apples'?," Esposito scoffed.

"No, it's not you two. 'Apples' is his safe word," Beckett shook her head, "It means he's in trouble."

"How do you know his-," Lanie started and shook her head, "Girl, we're going to have a nice long chat after this is over."

"It's not like that," Beckett defended herself, her cheeks growing a fitting crimson red, and looked to Alexis who looked like she was holding in laughter. At least it was good to see her smile in this situation, "It's one of the first things Castle told me when we arrested him on our first case."

"Righhhhtttt," Esposito and Ryan couldn't help but tease her a little. After she glared at them, she turned to Alexis, "I think we need to call this in now, Alexis… okay?"

"Yeah," Alexis nodded, "I'll call Gram and let her know what's going on… do you think, under the circumstances it'd be okay if I tried to help? Instead of going to class? There's no way I'd be able to concentrate."

"Sure," Kate sighed, "Ryan? Esposito? You wanna talk to Alexis about what else she saw when she got up and I'll call it in? Lanie, could you maybe get your medical equipment so we can send this blood off to the lab to see if it is indeed Castle's. Maybe it might be his kidnapper's and we've caught a break."

"I'll get back as quickly as I can," Lanie nodded and gave Alexis a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder before leaving. While Beckett turned around and got her phone out to call in the case, Ryan led Alexis over to the other room with Esposito to ask her more questions on-the-record.

* * *

An hour later, Castle's apartment was being swept by CSU. They couldn't find any prints on anything thus far that didn't belong to the Castles. Beckett, Esposito, and Ryan were all talking in a corner. Martha returned to the apartment and was holding Alexis in a hug as they watched the police sweep their apartment for evidence. Lanie had her medical equipment by the kitchen counter to get a sample of the blood on the counter.

"Do you think the killer might have Castle?," Ryan asked the obvious question.

"I do and I think there might be more to it than that… if Sullivan was killed over getting too close to… uh," Esposito started and glanced at Beckett, unsure if he should continue.

"It's okay, Esposito," Beckett told him, "I know what you're trying to say… and we're not going to let _anything_ happen to Castle. Not on my watch."

"The media circus is downstairs," Alexis said coming up to the detectives, holding her grandmother's hand.

"Knew that was coming," Ryan muttered.

"Hey, guys," Lanie came over to the group with the note and blood samples, "Look what I found on the back of Castle's note when I unfolded it, collecting evidence."

"It's the sketch," Kate took it from her in the large Ziploc bag. Martha and Alexis snuck a peek over her shoulder.

"He wrote his cry for help on the sketch," Esposito observed, "Do you think he's trying to send a message? Maybe that's the guy who has him."

"We still don't have an ID on the guy," Ryan shook his head.

"Castle seemed to think it might be the big boss," Lanie told them, "The one Dick Coonan said couldn't be touched."

"We'll get down to the precinct and see if there's any news on his identity," Esposito said and nodded toward the door.

"Let me come with you," Alexis stepped forward, "You can ward off the paparazzi for me."

Esposito looked to Martha, as if he was asking for permission, she nodded and he stretched out his arm, "All right, come on."

"I'll send this off to the lab to verify whether or not it is Castle's," Lanie held up the blood samples, "Let me know when you find out anything new."

"Of course," Kate nodded and looked back at the sketch, "I just wish I knew who you were."

"Kate?," Martha started, "Could we speak in private for a moment?"

"Yeah," Beckett said and let Martha lead the way upstairs to get away from the rest of the police. They were almost done canvassing the scene. Once they were out of any and all earshot in Castle's bedroom, Beckett spoke again, "What is it Martha?"

"I know that man," Martha pointed to the sketch.

"You-you do?," Beckett was shocked, alternating her gaze between the sketch in her hand and Martha, "How?"

"Well," Martha started slowly and took a deep breath, licking her lips, "He's Richard's father."

**TBC**

**

* * *

**

Dun dun dun... and that's the concept to of which this story was born. I always thought it would be an interesting twist if the man who ordered the hit on Beckett's mother was actually Castle's biological father since we have no idea who he is. Castle once made a comment about he could be whoever - and so I thought about this little twist. I really don't think any other author has tackled something like this before and I believe that this is a unique plotline. I know it's a bit of an evil cliffhanger again, but I'll try to post the next chapter sometime this weekend. In the meantime, please comment and tell me what you think!

Thank you to those of you who are just reading as well! I appreciate you too!

Clois and Caskett Forever! ;) :D


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: I guess you guys like my twist! And I'm glad that you all think it's pretty unique. I thought so. ;) I finally found some free time to post the next chapter to this little gem. The end to this chapter doesn't really have _that_ much of a cliffhanger; it depends on what you think a cliffie is. :P I hope I'll be able to post chapter 8 within the next few days if homework/studying and my friends allow it. :P I _really_ can't wait for the new Castle tomorrow night, _3XK_ - that promo reminded me so much of what's to come in this story and the fact that I wrote Castle in the situation he's in before this episode even aired is pretty freaky and cool at the same time. :P All right, y'all had enough with my little musings, you wanna read on, so go on. Please comment if you can. :)

_Previously in **Habeas Corpses**..._

_"Kate?," Martha started, "Could we speak in private for a moment?"_

_"Yeah," Beckett said and let Martha lead the way upstairs to get away from the rest of the police. They were almost done canvassing the scene. Once they were out of any and all earshot in Castle's bedroom, Beckett spoke again, "What is it Martha?"_

_"I know that man," Martha pointed to the sketch._

_"You-you do?," Beckett was shocked, alternating her gaze between the sketch in her hand and Martha, "How?"_

_"Well," Martha started slowly and took a deep breath, licking her lips, "He's Richard's father."_

_

* * *

_

Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 7**

**Unknown Location**

There was hardly any light filtering into the room. The only means of light was one ray of sunshine that managed to peek through the small dirty window on the other side of the room. It appeared to be some dark basement. In the middle of this space was Richard Castle, unconscious and tied to a chair – the only difference from the last time he was tied up was this time he had rope around his wrists and ankles and they bound him a lot tighter than Alexis did for his research.

Castle jerked awake with a grunt and immediately regretted it. A shooting pain ran through his neck and up through his head, "Oww."

"Nice to see you finally awake," Johnson said, sitting on a wooden table against the wall on the right of Castle.

"Well, I wouldn't have been out if you hadn't hit me over the head with the butt of your gun," Castle remarked, "So… why did you kill Sullivan?"

"Who says I did?," Johnson smirked.

"I know you did," Castle tried to adjust his vision to the dimly lit room, "And if my current situation means anything, I don't think I'll be any threat to you to rat you out."

"True," Johnson stood up, "It was nothing personal… just a job."

"But wasn't he your partner?," Castle asked.

"Yes, but money is thicker than friendship," Johnson said, walking closer to Castle.

"You need a writer," Castle commented, "That was horrible."

"Maybe I do," Johnson turned around and started walking toward the only exit in the room, "Too bad you won't be around for the job."

He started out the door. Castle yelled after him, "Wait! Why did you kidnap me? What do you want from me?"

"It's not me," Johnson replied without turning around, "You'll be meeting the big boss soon enough."

With that, he slammed the door shut leaving Castle in the empty room alone. Castle sighed; his heart thudding harder and harder in his chest. He hung his head and closed his eyes thinking about his mother and daughter, Kate, Esposito, Ryan, Montgomery, and Lanie – his family.

* * *

**Castle's Bedroom**

"I'm sorry," Kate looked like a fish opening and closing her mouth, "I, uh… did you say that this man is…"

"Richard's father, yes," Martha nodded, finishing her sentence for her.

"But Castle told me that you didn't know who his father was," Beckett was confused, "No offense."

"I only told him that," Martha replied, "There was one thing I didn't lie about what I told him about his father and that was that when I met him, I loved him a lifetime."

"What's his name?," Kate asked.

"Nick King," Martha said, "He didn't used to be like the way he is now, it all changed several months into our relationship."

"What happened?," Beckett was genuinely interested. Martha took a seat on the edge of Castle's bed and patted the spot next to her.

Once Beckett took a seat, Martha began, "We met while I was traveling for one of my shows. He was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet… then eventually he discovered gambling."

"He got in debt?," Beckett asked.

"Not so much debt as he discovered that he liked that world – the mob world, more than reality," Martha replied, "He could gain power there and make money – I was the one providing for us before he…"

"Before he changed?," Beckett provided for her.

"Yes," Martha nodded, "Anyway, after about a year, he was so far gone into that world – I had to get out."

"Did you run?," Beckett tilted her head to the side, genuine interest and concern for the older woman emanated from her gaze.

"I had to," Martha said, "I found out I was pregnant with Richard and I didn't want him to be a part of that world or for Nick to instill any of that into him."

"Did he know about Castle?," Beckett asked, gesturing to the sketch still in her hand.

"I don't know," Martha shook her head, "I think he was suspicious because I acted a little out-of-character for the last part of our relationship, but I don't think he did… after the man he became, I don't think he'd have let me leave if he knew about Richard."

"Thank you for telling me all of this, Martha," Beckett stood up, "At least now we have a name to go with the face."

"Do you think Nick has my boy?," Martha asked, looking up at Beckett.

"I don't know," Beckett really didn't know, "But we'll find out… Castle's gonna be okay."

"I know he is," Martha stood up and composed herself, "You and your friends are on the case – he's as good as home."

"The more we know about Nick King, I think the better chance we'll have of finding him," Beckett said, "Would you be willing to give us everything you know about him?"

"I already did," Martha smiled, "I'm sorry, dear, but I haven't even thought about Nick in years. I have no idea what sort of business dealings he's been involved in or if he's gotten worse since the last time I saw him."

"All right," Beckett understood and started for the door, but Martha stopped her, "Kate? Could you-?"

"Could I what?," Beckett turned around.

"Could you keep what I told you a secret?," Martha said and Beckett furrowed her brows. After a brief pause, Martha clarified, "I mean, could you keep the fact that Nick King is Castle's father a secret?"

"For right now," Beckett said, "But Castle deserves to find out eventually – especially if he's being held by him."

"I know," Martha nodded, "I guess I just hoped he could be spared of having to find out that his father is one of the biggest mob bosses in the underworld."

"From gambling to the mob," Beckett shook her head, "Corruption is a funny thing."

"Yes it is," Martha replied and joined Beckett by the door, "Now, go on, get down to the precinct and find my boy."

* * *

**Unknown Location**

Castle had no concept of time. He didn't know how long he had been sitting bound tightly in his chair. The little light that had been streaming through the window wasn't a good enough indicator for the writer to figure out the time of day.

He rolled his head around to try and get all the kinks out of it – what he could really use would be some _Tylenol_. Rick turned his head to see who was at the door when he heard it open. The dim lighting in the room only allowed him to see a silhouette of a tall man with a gun in his hand.

The mystery man spoke, "I see you're still awake, Richard."

* * *

**12th Precinct**

"Did you find any more useful information at Castle's place?," Ryan asked when he saw Beckett approach their desks. Alexis was sitting in Castle's usual chair, Esposito hovering over her protectively.

"Nothing on the scene, but I've got a name to go with this face," Beckett held up the sketch with Castle's note.

"How'd you find out?," Alexis sat up straighter.

"Anonymous source," Beckett replied, "But now that we have a name, we can start searching about him."

She handed the evidence to Esposito and said, "Dig up everything you can on a Nick King."

"On it," Esposito gave her a nod and took off.

"The media circus is still surrounding the precinct," Alexis said, "Can't you guys make them go away?"

"We've got Uniforms warding them off," Ryan said, "But they won't back off. Montgomery said that they're all insisting that we call in the FBI because Castle is such a high-profile case."

"What do you think?," Beckett sat in her chair and looked up at Ryan who took Esposito's protective spot over Alexis.

"I'm not sure," Ryan shook his head, "I think it might be a good idea."

"What about you, Alexis?," Beckett asked, "Do you think we should bring the FBI into this investigation?"

"Anything that can get my dad back faster," Alexis replied, "I know you guys are on the case and Dad is as good as home, but if bringing in the FBI means he comes home safe sooner, than I think it's the best idea."

"Good, because Montgomery is already making the call," Ryan said, "Oh, and Montgomery told me that even though we're on Castle's kidnapping case, we can't forget about Mr. Sullivan."

"Especially since they're more than likely connected," Beckett agreed.

"I think whoever killed Mr. Sullivan probably has my dad," Alexis stood up, sounding every bit the detective.

"Exactly what I was thinking," Beckett nodded, a little pride swelling inside her for the young Castle.

"I just started the research on this Nick King," Esposito came back, "But so far, I've got nothing, absolutely no information, record, or file on him. It's like this man doesn't exist. Are you sure on the name?"

"Positive," Beckett replied, "Just because we don't have a file on him doesn't mean he doesn't exist. It looks like we're bringing the FBI in on the case. I'm sure they'll have something on him, he can't _completely_ fly under the radar."

"Is there anything more I can do?," Alexis looked hopeful.

"Not right now, sweetie," Beckett shook her head, "You told us everything you knew about what happened this morning."

"Wait," Ryan looked as if an epiphany had struck him, "Does Castle have any cameras in his apartment for security purposes?"

"He doesn't keep them running all the time," Alexis shook her head, "It runs on a cycle, but maybe by some stroke of luck, the camera was running last night. I hadn't even thought of it."

"I'm surprised none of us thought of it," Esposito said. This case really _was_ rattling them more than anybody cared to admit, "Ryan and I will get on it and see what we can find."

"Okay," Beckett said. She watched them jog away and then looked to Alexis who was staring at her murder board. Kate followed her gaze to see Rick's name on the board with 'KIDNAPPED' written in all caps above his name with his publicity shot that was on the back of _Heat Wave_. She shut her eyes and tried to shake the image out of her head. Never again did she ever want to see "Richard Castle" written on her whiteboard.

She excused herself to Alexis when she heard Montgomery call her to his office, "I'll be right back, Alexis. You'll stay here?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Alexis nodded, "Maybe I'll be able to figure something out while you're gone. Dad always said he'd sometimes get struck with an epiphany after staring at this board."

Beckett gave her a small smile at the thought of how Castle would always light up whenever he thought of something to help advance the case. She especially loved it when he'd figure something out at the exact second she did – she'd just never admit it to him. Kate squeezed Alexis' shoulder once again before heading to her boss' office.

* * *

**Unknown Location**

Castle didn't answer the man. As soon as he got closer to him, he instantly recognized him as the man from the sketch. Rick may love to be sarcastic, but with this guy, he wasn't about to take any chances. He kept his mouth shut.

"Not feeling very talkative, huh?," the man asked. He pulled a chair seemingly out of nowhere and sat right in front of Castle, "All right, I'll start then. My name's Nick King."

Castle still wouldn't answer.

"Nick and Rick," Nick cocked his head to the side, trying to get Castle to reply. After another moment, it was apparent Nick was getting agitated and started waving his gun around in the air, "Look, if you don't start talking soon, I'm gonna have to persuade you to talk."

"What do you want from me?," Castle immediately spoke up.

"There," Nick put the gun down to rest on his leg, still in his hand, "That's better."

"You didn't answer my question," Castle repeated, "What do you want from me?"

"Not much," Nick pursed his lips, "Tell me what you know about Johanna Beckett's murder… and don't skip on any details, I know how you writers are with the details."

****

**TBC**

**

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**

Thanks to those of you just reading as well. I appreciate you all too!

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D

Things are really starting to get interesting, aren't they? This case is stressing them all out, but at least the FBI is coming into the case. ;) I couldn't resist not bringing you-know-who into the story. ;) If you don't catch my drift, just re-watch the trailer. :P To answer some of your questions, Nick King doesn't know about Castle and vice versa which makes a very interesting and unique situation. I hope you all are enjoying this story. I had a lot of fun writing my first Castle story and I hope to maybe write another one in the near future after my next Smallville one. ;) Please comment and let me know what you think! I love to read all the reviews. :) 


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: All righty, first off, I'd like to apologize again about the discrepancies about medical terminology and/or the way the police business is conducted. I'm just going off of what I've seen on Castle and with no prior knowledge. I hope it doesn't take away from the general enjoyment of the story. And when/if I write another Castle story, I will keep everything in mind that you wonderful reviewers have told me. :) So, I thank you for letting me know for future reference... and on to the next chapter description:

I'm glad you all seem to still be enjoying this. :D I'm glad my twists have captured your interest and I hope to keep all of your interests piqued throughout the rest of the story! Chapter 8 is about 6 pages or so in MS Word. I'm not sure when I'll be posting Chapter 9, but there isn't too much of a cliffie at the end of this chapter. ;) Enjoy and please let me know what you think! :D

_Previously in **Habeas Corpses**..._

_"Nick and Rick," Nick cocked his head to the side, trying to get Castle to reply. After another moment, it was apparent Nick was getting agitated and started waving his gun around in the air, "Look, if you don't start talking soon, I'm gonna have to persuade you to talk."_

_"What do you want from me?," Castle immediately spoke up._

_"There," Nick put the gun down to rest on his leg, still in his hand, "That's better."_

_"You didn't answer my question," Castle repeated, "What do you want from me?"_

_"Not much," Nick pursed his lips, "Tell me what you know about Johanna Beckett's murder… and don't skip on any details, I know how you writers are with the details."_

**

* * *

**

Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 8**

**12th Precinct**

"Detective Beckett? Are you okay?," Alexis asked when she saw Beckett come back to her desk, "Is there something wrong? Is it my dad?"

"There's nothing wrong," Beckett assured her, "It's just that Montgomery just told me that they're going to be assigning Special Agent Jordan Shaw from the FBI to work with us."

"Agent Shaw? Isn't that the name of the woman that worked with you guys when that serial killer was after you?," Alexis asked.

"Yeah," Beckett nodded, still staring blankly.

"But she was chasing after Dunn," Alexis was confused and started rambling off quickly, "She's like Homicide. Do they really think that they'll be needing her? You don't think my dad is hurt do you? Or are they just getting her to work on Mr. Sullivan's case? I-"

Kate cut her off, "Calm down, sweetie. Roy told me they're only getting her because she's one of the best agents they have. With the FBI's resources, we'll more than likely be able to find him quicker than by ourselves. Plus, they're probably sending her because she's worked with Castle before too."

"Good," Alexis let out a sigh of relief, "Is she going to be getting here soon?"

"Within a few hours," Kate replied.

"Hours? I thought Detective Ryan said that you guys were calling in the FBI because he's such a high-profile case," Alexis didn't understand, "Why won't she and her team be her for hours?"

"Because they're hours away," Beckett answered, "They just finished up a case on the west coast and are coming back to New York as soon as they can. While we're waiting for them to show, I think we should continue our investigation on Mr. Sullivan."

"I'd like to help," Alexis said, "Whenever I'm stressed out about something, my dad always tells me to focus on something else for awhile and then go back to it – it'll be clearer. He does the same thing when he gets writer's block. It's worked with me for homework, maybe it'll work for this situation too."

"All right," Beckett conceded, "Come on, we'll go down to the morgue and see if Lanie has anything new for us and while we're there, we'll see what info she dug up that she gave to your dad."

* * *

**Morgue**

"Before I say anything, I think you should know that the blood we found at the loft was indeed Castle's," Lanie mentioned as soon as she saw Beckett and Alexis enter the morgue.

"I figured," Kate sighed, "Did you get all the information together?"

"I got as much information as I could pull together after you called to tell me you were coming," Lanie replied with a nod.

"What exactly do you have for us?," Beckett asked as she approached Lanie's desk, Alexis at her side.

"Everything I told Castle," Lanie gestured to the files she spread out on her desk, "But I don't think that we'll find anything new. I've been over those things more than I care to say."

"Can you give us a Cliff Notes version then?," Alexis asked, looking at the large mound of papers and files on the desk.

"Basically, every victim's cause of death had something to do with their liver whether they were shot, stabbed, or any number of things," Lanie started, "And all of their occupations involved helping the people: lawyer, cop, etc."

"But didn't they catch the killers?," Beckett asked.

Lanie let out a small smile at that. Castle asked the same thing when she told him the same information. They were more in tuned with each other than either of them would care to admit, "The cases were closed and were attributed to gang violence."

"That sounds familiar," Beckett didn't mean to sound bitter, but it came out that way. It struck a chord in her, "And I think it's a safe bet that whoever killed Mr. Sullivan killed these people as well."

"Either that or there's some sort of organization out there that has a lot of hired hit men to do the same thing," Alexis theorized.

"Looks like you might have a new hire coming up in the future," Lanie gave Alexis a wink and Beckett gave a proud smile at the young girl, "That's what I said to Castle, but I mentioned that it might be somebody carrying around the old calling card of Dick Coonan."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Beckett muttered.

"Any word yet on who that is in the sketch?," Lanie asked.

"Yeah, we got a name. Sorry, with all the chaos, I forgot to call you," Beckett apologized. Lanie just waved her off and motioned for her to continue, "His name is Nick King."

"Detective Esposito said he couldn't find anything on him in their files, but they're bringing the FBI on the case to speed things along," Alexis provided.

"Who they bringing over?," Lanie asked.

"Agent Shaw," Beckett replied.

"Shaw? The woman you worked with on the Scott Dunn case?," Lanie asked. Beckett had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Everybody was bringing that up, "Yes, the one in the same. They're bringing her in because she's one of the best they have and with her and our team, we'll be able to bring Castle home safe quicker."

"When is she coming?," Lanie looked to Kate or Alexis for an answer. Alexis was the one to speak up, "She's a couple hours away, but she's coming right now. They just finished up a case over on the west coast."

"She feed you any info on this Nick King, yet?," Lanie asked.

"Not yet," Kate shook her head, "They're probably still compiling all his transgressions. I'm pretty sure his track record consists of felonies a lot deeper than parking tickets."

"You should call her and see what she's dug up so far," Lanie suggested, "That way you'll be that much more ahead by the time she and her team get here."

"I was going to do that as soon as we were done with our trip here," Beckett nodded.

"Good, I'm coming with you back to the precinct. I'm all done with my other bodies right now and this is way more important than anything else I've got going on," Lanie said and ushered Beckett and Alexis out of the morgue, "Come on."

* * *

**12th Precinct**

"I think we may have something on the tapes from Castle's loft," Esposito greeted the three women back in the precinct.

"They were running?," Alexis grew a little more hopeful.

"Thankfully, yes," Ryan said and double-clicked the video window on his computer, "Though since Castle has more than one camera alternating to film, each angle we can only see Castle's face and not his abductor."

"Do you think he knew where the cameras were?," Beckett asked.

"It's unlikely," Ryan said and pointed to the screen, "He wasn't purposely avoiding it. You can tell by his movements. I think it was just luck on his part."

"Have you been able to zoom in at all? Try to get a good picture of his profile?," Lanie joined the conversation.

"This is about as close as we can get for right now," Esposito said, "without the picture getting too grainy. Hopefully the FBI's equipment will be able to help."

"One thing is for sure though," Ryan looked away from the monitor to everyone crowded around his desk, "That's not Nick King. This guy's build is different."

"Doesn't mean he's not working for him," Beckett reminded him, "Has Jordan called in yet? They any closer to New York?"

"Not yet," Esposito shook his head. Not a moment later, Beckett's desk phone rang. She walked briskly over to it and answered eagerly, "Beckett."

_"Beckett, it's Jordan Shaw," Shaw was on the line, "We're not too far from your precinct. I just thought I'd call and let you know I've got some info on our boy Nick King. He's quite the Mr. Universe."_

"How so?," Beckett asked. Ryan, Esposito, Lanie, and Alexis were in rapt attention, hoping to hear a little of the conversation.

_"He's got a list of felonies longer than my arm and the severity of each are too numerous to mention… yet we've never been able to touch him," Shaw replied, "Are you sure this guy is involved in Castle's abduction?"_

"Positive," Beckett replied, "We've got an eyewitness account and a very reliable source told me the name of the man."

_"This guy has been untouchable so far," Shaw said, "Hopefully his ability to remain that way is coming to an end… especially with us on the case."_

"I hear you," Beckett agreed.

_"We should be at the twelfth within a few minutes," Shaw said, "Make sure you and your boys have everything we'll need to try and track this SOB down."_

Without another word, they both hung up. Everybody was still looking at Beckett expectantly. Lanie broke the silence, "So, what's going on?"

"Jordan and her team will be here in a few minutes," Beckett started giving orders, "Ryan, Esposito, wrap up all the info we've got so far on Sullivan's case and Castle being kidnapped. Lanie, be ready to brief Shaw on everything you know about this guy's MO, and Alexis…"

"Yeah?," Alexis looked just as eager to help as the rest of their friends who jumped to do as they were told.

"I know you want to be involved in this, sweetie, but I think your grandmother may need you more than what you can do here," Beckett looked sorry.

Alexis let out a sigh of resignation, "You know, I had a bad feeling about this case from the start."

"What do you mean?," Beckett tilted her head to the side.

"I don't know," Alexis didn't know how to explain it, "It was just something about this case that didn't sit well with me."

"You've got good intuition, Alexis," Kate praised her, "And I know I speak for everyone when I say that we appreciate your help, but I think you should go back to Martha."

"I understand, but will you promise to let me know the second you get more information? Updating me as often as you can? Even if it's just a quick text?," Alexis asked.

"You can count on it," Beckett nodded. Instead of expressing gratitude verbally, Alexis wrapped Kate up in the same bear-hug she gave Castle the previous day, "Bring him home safe soon, Detective."

"I will," Beckett said, "Now get back to you gram. We can take things from here."

Alexis nodded and let herself out, passing the FBI team and Agent Shaw on the way. Shaw's team went to go set up their 'war room' once again as Shaw came right up to Beckett with a nod back to the door, "Who was the young girl you were just hugging? A concerned citizen about Castle?"

"That was Castle's daughter Alexis," Beckett told her, "She's going back home to give her grandmother some comfort. She was very helpful with our investigation thus far."

"How's she taking it?," Shaw folded her arms, she was genuinely concerned.

"As well as can be expected," Beckett shrugged, "I promised her I'd give her updates every once in awhile on what we find."

"What do your boys have for me?," Shaw nodded towards Ryan and Esposito making their way toward them.

"Some video footage from Castle's loft when he was kidnapped," Beckett replied, "Our equipment isn't advanced enough to get a clear picture on the guy, not to mention that he never really faces the camera to get a clear view in the first place."

"If he's on record, we'll be able to find him," Shaw nodded. As soon as Esposito and Ryan made it over to the two women, Shaw didn't even let them speak, she just immediately gave them an order, "Go into my people's war room and give them that footage to see if we can't clear it up at all."

"Right," Esposito nodded and left to do as he was told with Ryan, as always, on his tail.

"I've got some other information for you too," Lanie spoke up.

"Tell me all about it," Shaw led Lanie into the war room.

Beckett remained frozen by her desk and turned her head to Castle's empty chair. She let out a long sigh and whispered to no one, "Where are you, Castle?"

******TBC**

* * *

Enter Agent Jordan Shaw. 8-) With her help, all should go well... sooooo, what do you guys think? You still enjoying the story as much as when you first started reading? Don't worry, we'll get back to Castle in the next chapter. And just so you all are aware, what's left of this story are chapters 9-15 and an epilogue, so there's still a bit to go. ;) Please comment and tell me what you think! I hope to post chapter 9 within the next couple of days. I love reading what you all have to say, it brightens my smile each time I see a review alert, story alert, author alert, favorite story, or favorite author message in my inbox. It truly means a lot to me, everybody. :) So, if you have a moment, please leave a comment on your thoughts of the story thus far. ;) :D

Thanks to those of you who are just reading. I appreciate you too! :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: *slides in the thread* I think I have enough time before I have to go to my Organic Chem lab to update this little beauty. I'm not sure what day this weekend, I'll be updating, so keep your eyes peeled. I've got enough homework this weekend to go around. *rolls eyes* Anddddd, I have an embarrassing confession to make: when I was splitting up the stories into chapters, I was a little tired and I jumped from 9 to 11... completely skipped #10, so in actuality, this story is only a prologue, **14** chapters, and an epilogue... *is embarrassed* To make up for it, this chapter (9) is about 6 and a half pages. That means there isn't that much more to go.

I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter. It has a _little_ bit of a cliffie at the end, but not too bad. Let me know what you think!

_Previously in **Habeas Corpses**..._

_"What do your boys have for me?," Shaw nodded towards Ryan and Esposito making their way toward them._

_"Some video footage from Castle's loft when he was kidnapped," Beckett replied, "Our equipment isn't advanced enough to get a clear picture on the guy, not to mention that he never really faces the camera to get a clear view in the first place."_

_"If he's on record, we'll be able to find him," Shaw nodded. As soon as Esposito and Ryan made it over to the two women, Shaw didn't even let them speak, she just immediately gave them an order, "Go into my people's war room and give them that footage to see if we can't clear it up at all."_

_"Right," Esposito nodded and left to do as he was told with Ryan, as always, on his tail._

_"I've got some other information for you too," Lanie spoke up._

_"Tell me all about it," Shaw led Lanie into the war room._

_Beckett remained frozen by her desk and turned her head to Castle's empty chair. She let out a long sigh and whispered to no one, "Where are you, Castle?"_

_

* * *

_

Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 9**

**Unknown Location**

"Johanna Beckett?," Castle raised an eyebrow, "I have no idea of whom you're talking about."

"Do you really think it wise to play dumb, Ricky?," King asked, "Especially when there is a gun being pointed at your head."

"If you wanted me dead, I would've been killed back at my loft," Castle replied wisely. He licked his lips and continued, "So, clearly that tells me that I mean more to you alive than dead."

"Clever boy," King nodded. After a second, a smug expression crossed across his face, "Though, I do have alternate ways of finding out with or without you and I'm not the sort of man to play games with… so tell me what you know about the murder of Johanna Beckett."

"All I know is she was killed a little over ten years ago," Castle said, "And the case was closed… the detectives on the case folded everything into a nice little box and just attributed it to gang violence."

"You're lying," King took the safety off the gun, "You know more and if you don't tell me what you _really_ know, the world is going to lose one of its best-selling authors."

Castle's eyes widened and gulped.

* * *

**12th Precinct**

"Good and bad news time," Ryan said when Kate entered the war room.

"What's the good news? I could really use some right now," Beckett sighed.

"The good news is that we were able to get a better look at Castle's kidnapper," Ryan nodded his head toward the screen.

Before Beckett could ask what the bad news was, Shaw let her know, "The bad news is that this guy isn't on _any_ of our records. He's not coming up on any of our facial recognition software."

"You don't need any," Beckett was looking up at the screen.

"You know him?," Esposito furrowed his brows.

"That's William Johnson," Beckett said and turned around, "That's our victim's law partner."

"And to think, we already had him in the station," Ryan shook his head.

"A dirty lawyer," Shaw shook her head. She turned to her partner Avery, "Bring up all info you can find on this Johnson and bring up what we've got on Nick King on this screen."

"Wow, you're right," Beckett walked up closer to the screen with her arms folded, "He really is an all-around kinda guy."

"Drug-trafficking, shootings, robberies," Ryan started reading them off, "Sounds like a fun guy."

"Oh yeah," Shaw picked up on his sarcasm, "And he never leaves any evidence behind. Every time anybody can get near him, he's got a solid alibi and he never leaves prints anywhere, but all these jobs are his doing."

"How's he on record then?," Lanie asked.

"Parking ticket," Shaw grinned.

"That's gotta be frustrating," Esposito joined the conversation, "You know this guy is responsible for all of these things, but you can't nail him."

"Tell me about it," Shaw empathized, "The only reason we've never been able to get him is because he's never done the dirty work before… now it seems like he's found something we can finally catch him in. He's been flying under the radar for so long, we've finally got a trace on him. How did you even get this guy's name in the first place, Beckett?"

"Anonymous and trustworthy source," Beckett replied.

"I'd want to remain anonymous too if I could survive knowing this guy," Shaw replied, shaking her head in disbelief. She turned back to her partner, "How's the info on Johnson coming, Avery?"

"I've gone all the way back to elementary school and it looks like this guy's clean," Avery said, "The worst thing he ever did was jaywalk."

"How does a guy like that get involved with King," Shaw remarked, "Cross reference everything you can about the two… see where they could've met up."

"Didn't we learn last time that they could've met up somewhere other than on the record?," Beckett made a point, "Dunn met with Ben Conrad at a bar randomly. For all we know, the same thing could've happened again."

"It's not like we can go to every bar in New York and across the country, showing a picture of both men and ask if they've seen them before," Shaw said, "Right now we'll just have to work with what we have."

"Castle seemed to think that the connection wasn't between King and our victim," Lanie finally spoke up.

"What did he think?," Shaw turned to the ME.

"While he and Kate were investigating the murder of his partner Charles Sullivan, Castle discovered that Mr. Sullivan was investigating _another_ murder," Lanie told her.

"Another murder?," Shaw's interest was immediately piqued, "How many bodies has this guy been racking up? What murder?"

"My mother's," Kate took a step forward, "Our victim was looking into the ten-year old case of my mother's murder."

"A cold case?," Shaw didn't understand, "Why would he be investigating that?"

"Last year, we had another case involving the Westies," Beckett started to explain, "Jack Coonan was killed and we later discovered that his little brother Dick Coonan did the killing."

"Loving brother," Shaw commented.

Beckett continued her explanation, "Anyway, we also found out that Dick Coonan was the man that… killed my mother… and…"

Esposito saw Kate struggling to continue and acting as the big brother he saw himself as to her, he finished for her, "And we learned that he was just a hired hand. Apparently it was just a hit and before we could find out the name of the man who put the hit on her mother… Coonan drew a gun on Castle."

Ryan took over, "Castle butted Coonan in the nose with the back of his head and before he could shoot Castle, Kate shot Coonan… killing him."

"Castle seemed to be under the impression that our mystery man aka Nick King is really the untouchable man that ordered the hit on Kate's mother," Lanie finished the explanation.

"All the more reason to put this guy away," Shaw stated. She paused and walked up slowly to Kate, "And if he's interested in your mother's murder then we have to know all about it too… can you handle this?"

"If it means getting closure on my mother and bringing Castle home safely all at the same time," Beckett nodded, "I can handle anything."

"Good," Shaw gave her a small smile, "Then, I'm going to need everything you have on your mother's murder."

"I'll get the file," Esposito volunteered.

"We'll get him, Beckett," Shaw assured her, "Don't worry."

"I know," Beckett nodded, staying strong, "Nick King is going to finally get caught in the act and we'll be there to take him down."

"I wasn't talking about King, Kate," Shaw gave her a knowing glance as she followed Esposito to the file room. Kate bit her lip and looked up, fighting back tears. She could really use Castle's shoulder at the moment.

* * *

**Castle's Loft**

"Gram?," Alexis peeked her head around the corner to the entrance of her dad's office, "You in here?"

"Right here, darling," Martha was looking through an old album.

"What are you looking at?," Alexis came up from behind her.

"Just some old pictures," Martha looked up, "Is there any word on your father yet?"

"I just left the precinct," Alexis replied, "Detective Beckett said she'd let me know when they had more information, but right now all they can do is research the suspects before they can find him."

"He's going to be okay, you know that, right?," Martha lifted Alexis' chin up with her thumb and forefinger.

Alexis let out a shaky breath, "The last thing he said to me before we hung up yesterday was 'Love you'… he needs to be okay."

"He will," Martha replied, "Kate and her team are doing everything they can."

"I know, Gram. It's just that he promised me that nothing would happen to him and now…," Alexis left the thought trail off.

"Oh, honey," Martha wrapped Alexis in a hug, "He didn't know this was going to happen. With everyone on the case, Richard will be home safe and sound sooner than you think."

"Yeah," Alexis sniffled into her grandmother's blouse, "They even brought the FBI into the case."

"See?," Martha pulled her out of the hug, "We have nothing to worry about."

Alexis nodded, letting a small smile poke through the tears. She let her eyes drift to the old album Martha was looking at and one particular photograph caught her interest, "Gram?"

"Yes, sweetie?," Martha was oblivious to her granddaughter's next statement.

"That man," Alexis took the picture out of the album, "He looks like the man from the sketch that has dad."

"Sit down, sweetheart," Martha braced herself for her confession once again. There was no point in keeping it from her any longer.

* * *

**Unknown Location**

Castle just finished telling Nick King everything he knew about Coonan killing Kate's mother down to the rectangular bruising the knife left on her body. Though, he left out what he knew about somebody ordering a hit on her, "And that's all I know."

"Do you really expect me to believe that you don't know about me?," King cocked his head to the side. Castle tried his best to keep his face expressionless, but Nick caught the fear in his eyes, "Ah, I see I'm right."

Rick sighed and closed his eyes. There was no going back now, "Why did you order a hit on Johanna Beckett?"

Nick let out a throaty laugh, "I see the author really does have an incredible insight into the criminal mind. It was nothing personal, she was just something that had to be taken care of."

Castle didn't even let it faze him that King knew that he knew the truth and most likely he wouldn't get out of this predicament alive, so he decided to go for broke and let everything out, "Taken care of? She had a _family_, a _life_, and you just took it away without a second thought!"

"Brave words there, Richard," Nick replied. His tone of voice implied that Castle was skating on extremely thin ice.

"What happened, Nick?," Castle cocked his head to the side, letting out all his anger, "Did she get too close to exposing you? Exposing your little crime organization?"

"Something like that," Nick remained emotionless.

"How would you feel if somebody took _your_ mother away? Your daughter? Or your son?," Castle started getting emotional, tears threatening to fall, thoughts of Kate running rampant through his mind, "How would you feel if somebody you loved that much was taken away from you? If someone that close to you was going through the pain?"

"You're in love with her, aren't you?," King knew.

"What?," Castle was caught off-guard.

"You're in love with her daughter, right?," King looked smug, sitting back in the chair, and got closer to Rick, "You're in love with Johanna Beckett's daughter."

"You leave her out of this," Castle grew protective over her.

"Uh-oh, Ricky," Nick said sarcastically. He stood up and walked over to the single table in the room. Ripping a piece of duct tape, he put it over Castle's mouth, "Did I hit a nerve?"

All Castle did was give him a death glare. If looks could kill, Nick King would be on the ground dying in agony. As Nick walked towards the exit, he said something Rick couldn't believe, "You know, I don't _always_ get my way… if I did, Kate Beckett would've been dead a year ago."

* * *

**Castle's Loft**

"You used to know this guy?," Alexis asked as she sat on the edge of her dad's desk. Martha was sitting in Castle's chair, looking up at her granddaughter.

"You could say that," Martha replied.

"Are you the anonymous source Beckett got his name from?," Alexis figured it out.

"Yes," Martha nodded, "I knew him years and years ago, long before he turned into what he is today."

"What happened to him?," Alexis sat at the edge of the desk.

"To make a long story short, he fell into the wrong sort of crowd and it corrupted him – committing the unspeakable," Martha replied.

"How did you know him? Do you think you might be able to figure out where he could've taken Dad?," Alexis got hopeful.

"I don't think I'd be of any help, Alexis," Martha said, "He's been out of my life for a _long_ time. It took me everything to leave."

"What do you mean it took you everything to leave?," Alexis furrowed her brows, "Were you two together?"

"Yes," Martha nodded, her voice soft.

Alexis looked to the picture at the young Nick King and her grandmother. It took her a moment, but she managed to put two and two together to get, "Is he… is he my grandfather?"

Martha's look said it all. Alexis couldn't believe it, "Does Dad know?"

"No," Martha shook her head, "You and Kate are the only two who know."

"You've gotta tell Dad," Alexis echoed Kate's words from earlier, "especially if he's got him."

Martha let out a long sigh, contemplating what to do, "I will… once he's settled at home back with us."

* * *

**Unknown Location**

Castle sat in isolation, bound to a chair in the center of a dim and musky room with a new added feature – he had duct tape over his mouth. He tried to loosen the ropes around his wrists, but all it got him was some rope burn. Trying to figure a way out, he noticed that the table had a sharp edge where some wood had splintered off of it. Beneath the tape, he managed a small smile and decided to hop over to it.

Thankfully the chair wasn't bolted to the floor, so he was able to move it, _"Come on, Castle, you can make it. Something tells me if I stay here much longer, Nick is going to kill me. I want to know more of why he ordered the hit on Kate's mother, but I won't do much good if I'm dead."_

He made a couple of more hops successfully, silently hoping that the noise he was making wouldn't attract any attention, _"One more should do it. Come on, Rick, just one more – just a little farther."_

Rick let out a breath through his nose and made one more hop. He failed to notice a divot in the floor. One of the legs of the chair landed directly on it, knocking his balance totally off, and once again, Castle found himself tipping head first into the table. Unlike the last time, the table wasn't as sturdy and it broke in half with a loud crash, knocking the author unconscious. A small line of blood ran down Castle's forehead from his newly formed gash.

******TBC**

* * *

Oh, Castle... See? Now that wasn't _too_ evil of a cliffhanger, was it? :P For those of you who didn't see the author's note up top, I'll reiterate it down here. I made a mistake when splitting this story up into chapters. It's only a prologue, **14** chapters, and an epilogue. I'm sorry for the miscommunication. I was a little tired when I split them up. That means there's 5 chapters and an epilogue left! I hope you all are stil enjoying this story and I hope I've maintained the flow of an episode. ;) Please reply/comment/review and tell me what you think! I love to read them all. :)

Thanks to those of you who are just reading. I appreciate you too! :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: Okay, the last chapter _might've_ ended in a bit of a cliffhanger, but it wasn't _too_ bad. ;) Castle isn't in this next chapter, but you see him again in the beginning of Chapter 11 - don't fret. :P This chapter focuses more on our beloved Detective Kate Beckett. I found a few minutes to post this update before I have to delve into my studying/homework for the weekend. Chapter 10 is about 5 and a half pages or so in MS Word. :) I hope you enjoy it! And I hope you like the imagery, I worked pretty hard on a certain section to get the imagery just right and I hope I succeeded. Tell me what you think! Here's Chapter 10...

_Previously in **Habeas Corpses**..._

_**Unknown Location**_

_Castle sat in isolation, bound to a chair in the center of a dim and musky room with a new added feature – he had duct tape over his mouth. He tried to loosen the ropes around his wrists, but all it got him was some rope burn. Trying to figure a way out, he noticed that the table had a sharp edge where some wood had splintered off of it. Beneath the tape, he managed a small smile and decided to hop over to it._

_Thankfully the chair wasn't bolted to the floor, so he was able to move it, **"Come on, Castle, you can make it. Something tells me if I stay here much longer, Nick is going to kill me. I want to know more of why he ordered the hit on Kate's mother, but I won't do much good if I'm dead."**_

_He made a couple of more hops successfully, silently hoping that the noise he was making wouldn't attract any attention, **"One more should do it. Come on, Rick, just one more – just a little farther."**_

_Rick let out a breath through his nose and made one more hop. He failed to notice a divot in the floor. One of the legs of the chair landed directly on it, knocking his balance totally off, and once again, Castle found himself tipping head first into the table. Unlike the last time, the table wasn't as sturdy and it broke in half with a loud crash, knocking the author unconscious. A small line of blood ran down Castle's forehead from his newly formed gash._

_

* * *

_

Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 10**

**12th Precinct**

"I think it's a safe bet that Mr. Johnson here was Mr. Sullivan's killer," Shaw stated.

"You drawing that conclusion from the fact he kidnapped Castle?," Beckett asked.

"That and my boys were able to get the audio up on the video footage," Shaw smirked, "Castle asked him what he was doing at his apartment and he replied 'a job' – if he was hired to kidnap Castle, he more than likely was hired to kill Charles Sullivan too. He was perfect. Sullivan knew him, he could get close, and murder him."

"Any further info?," Beckett was growing very frustrated with their lack of evidence.

"No," Shaw sighed. She was just as frustrated, "We don't have a breadcrumb trail like before. We're not getting any clues. And even though we've got plenty of info on King's background, there's hardly any info on his recent activity – and he knows how to cover his tracks too well. Plus, this Johnson is like a ghost. I think our best bet is to sleep on it and come back first thing tomorrow morning with a clear head."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Beckett refused, "Castle might not have a day and I don't want to wait around when this lunatic could be hurting him or worse."

"Sorry, Beckett," Shaw argued, "This is out of your jurisdiction. Your captain put me on this case and I outrank you. I think our best bet of catching this guy and bringing home Castle safely is to sleep on it. Now, go home and get some rest. You're useless to me if you're stressed and burned out."

Before Beckett could get another objection in, Shaw walked away, leaving her to her thoughts. She slumped down in her leather chair and couldn't help but stare at Castle's vacant chair once again. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. All through the summer, she knew he'd be coming back, but now…

"You all right?," Ryan came up behind Kate.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Ryan," Kate looked up at him, "Just tired and frustrated."

"Ditto," Ryan managed a small smile and squeezed her shoulder, "If you need to talk, you know we're all here for you."

"I know," Beckett replied, patting his hand.

"You going home?," Lanie asked, switching places with Ryan.

"Not that I want to," Kate practically bit back, "Jordan's making me go home to get some rest and come back with a clear head. We've got absolutely no leads on this case. This isn't like our other cases, Lanie. The difference is we _know_ who did it, we just can't _find_ him."

"I hear you, girl," Lanie empathized, "But you know that it's all for the best, right? By tomorrow, I'm sure we'll be further ahead in the investigation. Even though she told us to go home, you know she's going to stay on it all night."

"This case is just…," Kate couldn't even think of a word to describe it.

"Come on, sweetie, I'll take you home," Lanie put her arm around her, leading her to the elevators.

"Actually, can you take me somewhere else?," Beckett asked as the elevator doors closed.

* * *

**Castle's Loft**

"Kate?," Martha answered the door.

"Detective Beckett?," Alexis got excited, "Did you find my dad? Where is he?"

"Sorry to get your hopes up, Alexis, but we're still looking into his location," Beckett replied, "I'm actually here for another reason."

"Well, don't just stand there, come in," Martha ushered her in, "Come in, kiddo."

"What is it?," Alexis asked once they were all inside and settled in the living room.

"Agent Shaw ordered me to go home and get some rest before following up some more on the case tomorrow," Kate started, "But I can't go home. It's too quiet. And I've been worried about you two. I was wondering, if it wasn't an imposition, would it be all right for me to spend the night here?"

"Darling, you don't have to ask," Martha assured her, "Of course you can stay here."

"Montgomery put some security detail on your place for safety measures," Kate told them, "Just thought you should be aware in case you need to leave at all tonight."

"I can take the couch and you can sleep in my room," Martha offered.

"Oh no, Martha," Kate stood up, "If I'm putting you out of your room… I can't."

Martha gave her a look, but before Martha could insist that it was perfectly fine with her, Alexis made another suggestion, "Why don't you take Dad's room?"

"That sounds perfect to me," Martha agreed.

"I-," Beckett started to object, but Martha cut her off, "You're not going to argue, Kate. You came here to rest up and watch out for us at the same time. And if I'm being perfectly honest, if you hadn't come over, I would've called you over… Now, let's all have something to eat and you can brief us on what you know so far about my boy."

"There isn't much," Beckett started, "Hopefully we'll be able to make a connection of both cases to triangulate some sort of location."

* * *

After a pleasant meal and after Kate briefed Martha and Alexis on everything that she knew about the case, Martha let Beckett know that Alexis was now aware of the fact that Nick King was Castle's father. Martha said that it might be a softer blow for Castle if the three of them told him together after he got back. Beckett insisted that it was a family matter and she didn't want to impose on that. Both Alexis and Martha told her that she was just as much as a part of their family as everyone else down at the precinct as being blood-related. After some reluctance, Kate agreed to be present when they told Castle the truth about his father. Some time passed and it was time for bed.

"Goodnight, Detective," Alexis bid Kate goodnight.

"Alexis, I think it's about time you called me Kate," Kate smiled.

"I'd like that," Alexis returned the favor, "Goodnight, Kate."

"Until tomorrow, Alexis," Beckett replied with a secret smile. Alexis disappeared behind her bedroom door. Martha came up behind Kate, putting her hands on her shoulders, "Everything is going to be all right, sweetheart. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Beckett turned around, "But it doesn't hurt to be reminded every once in awhile… it's just that these sort of cases don't always turn out for the best and I don't want this one to end up like one of those cases."

"It won't," Martha was sure, "You'll find him in time. I have faith in you."

"I just don't want to let them down," Beckett started to tear up.

"Who, darling?," Martha asked.

"My mother… and Castle," Beckett replied, "I don't want to be too late and let her down again and I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost Castle."

"You won't let them down, Kate," Martha knew that for a fact, "And Richard isn't going anywhere. You've cast a spell on him, Kate… you truly are extraordinary."

"You know, my mom used to say that 'Life never delivers anything we can't handle' – she called it Johanna's Immutable Law of the Universe," Kate got a look of reminiscence cross her features.

"She was a wise woman," Martha smiled, "You can handle this, Kate… I have complete faith in you to be able to do this and bring Richard back home safe and sound to _all_ of us."

"Thank you, Martha," Beckett gave her a small smile through her tears. Martha gave her another small smile, rubbing her arm in an assuring gesture, "Don't you have anything to sleep in? Something more comfortable than your work clothes?"

"I figured I wouldn't need any," Kate replied, "I wasn't sure if you'd want me to spend the night, so I didn't really bring anything. Besides, I'm only spending one night, I can sleep in this. It's no big deal."

"Nonsense," Martha wouldn't hear of it. She opened the door to Castle's room, where Beckett would be spending the night, and went to his closet, "You can wear one of Richard's old baggy shirts and sweatpants. There's no need for you to be uncomfortable."

"Martha, I-," Beckett was about to object once again, but as per every time she tried to argue, Martha wouldn't hear of it, "Now, Kate, Richard would never forgive me if he heard you spent the night here and had to sleep in your work clothes. It's really not any imposition, you could never be an imposition. Now get changed and get to sleep."

Without another word, Martha handed Kate one of Castle's baggy 'NY' t-shirts and some sweatpants, gave her a hug goodnight, and closed the door behind her. Kate let out a long sigh. She was relieved that Martha and Alexis didn't mind her spending the night. Now alone with her thoughts in the object of her thoughts' bedroom, she sat down on the edge of Castle's bed – his clothes beside her.

She got up and quickly changed into Castle's clothes. Pulling the front collar up to her nose, she was happy to discover that his scent was still on the shirt – a hint of his aftershave. Sitting on the side of the bed near his bedside table, she couldn't help but smile at the picture he had sitting there. It was of him and Alexis smiling at the camera when she was younger, she couldn't have been more than six years old. He truly loved his daughter.

_"If something were to happen to me, I want you to watch out for Alexis," Castle's voice from months ago when he thought he was cursed echoed through Kate's mind, "She looks up to you and if her boyfriends get frisky, you can shoot them."_

_"Nothing's going to happen to you," Beckett heard herself say._

_"But if it **does**," Castle emphasized. Beckett remembered the look he gave her – it killed her._

_"Okay," Kate remembered herself agreeing._

She closed her eyes to stop the tears from coming. Nothing was going to happen to him. He'd be back soon enough to bug and tease her, to help solve their cases, and be there for her. Gently reaching for the clasp of the necklace she wore of her mother's ring around her neck, she slipped it off and placed it on his bedside table in front of the picture. Then, she took off her father's watch and put it right next to her mother's ring. She lifted up the covers and crawled in, sliding her arms under the pillow, her head facing the picture. Kate shut off the lamp. The last image she saw before falling asleep was looking into the image of Castle's smiling face, his baby blues seemingly staring right back into hers.

* * *

**12th Precinct**

Agent Shaw may have told Beckett and everyone else to get some rest, but she was burning the midnight oil. The lack of evidence and leads were unnerving. She had to find some sort of connection. Jordan had gone over Charles Sullivan's case, Johanna Beckett's case, all the background they could dig up on William Johnson and Nick King… so far nothing was adding up. She let out a grunt of frustration, "What am I missing?"

She laid out Sullivan's case next to Johanna's. Thinking out loud, she muttered, "Why were you looking into her death, Sullivan?"

Looking up, struck with an epiphany, she booted up their smart board back to life to dig up all the information she could on Johanna Beckett's past, "Both lawyers, that's something, now let's see if you two were looking into the same cases."

After a few more keystrokes, Johanna Beckett's past cases and Charles Sullivan's past cases were cross-referenced and there was one relation – they were both looking into a mob group dealing in heroin trafficking, "Great, got a connection, now let's see if by some miracle, it links up with anything else."

The few seconds it was taking the computer to correlate every bit of information felt like a lifetime, "Come on."

'MATCH' lit up on the screen, "Got you, you son of a bitch."

******TBC**

* * *

Lookie-lou at that! There's a break in the case. :D You knew that was coming, Agent Shaw's on the job. ;) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I also hope that I wrote Kate's feelings in-character and the imagery was just right as she went to sleep in Castle's bed. It took me a little while to get it just right. I'm not sure when Chapter 11 will appear, but I'm sure it won't be _too_ long. Only four chapters and an epilogue are left of this story. Please comment and tell me what you think!

Thanks to those of you who are just reading. I appreciate you too! :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: *runs in* Hey, Everybody! I'm running in real quickly here to give you guys chapter 11 before I have to have a "fun-filled" day of homework/studying all day... oh joy. :P (Otherwise, you probably wouldn't have received an update today). I'm glad to see that you all are still enjoying the story and feel that everybody is still very in-character. This chapter starts again with Castle since you didn't see what happened to him from that evil cliffhanger at the end of chapter 9. ;) Chapter 11 is about 5 pages or so in MS Word, so it's a little shorter, but it's worth it (I hope). Please comment and tell me what you think... your reviews will give me something to look forward to whenever I manage to get a break from my homework/studying... oh the joys of being a college student. :P Anyway, here you go...

_Previously in **Habeas Corpses**..._

_Agent Shaw may have told Beckett and everyone else to get some rest, but she was burning the midnight oil. The lack of evidence and leads were unnerving. She had to find some sort of connection. Jordan had gone over Charles Sullivan's case, Johanna Beckett's case, all the background they could dig up on William Johnson and Nick King… so far nothing was adding up. She let out a grunt of frustration, "What am I missing?"_

_She laid out Sullivan's case next to Johanna's. Thinking out loud, she muttered, "Why were you looking into her death, Sullivan?"_

_Looking up, struck with an epiphany, she booted up their smart board back to life to dig up all the information she could on Johanna Beckett's past, "Both lawyers, that's something, now let's see if you two were looking into the same cases."_

_After a few more keystrokes, Johanna Beckett's past cases and Charles Sullivan's past cases were cross-referenced and there was one relation – they were both looking into a mob group dealing in heroin trafficking, "Great, got a connection, now let's see if by some miracle, it links up with anything else."_

_The few seconds it was taking the computer to correlate every bit of information felt like a lifetime, "Come on."_

_'MATCH' lit up on the screen, "Got you, you son of a bitch."_

**

* * *

**

Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 11**

**Unknown Location**

Castle woke up with a jerk and knocked his head into a wall in the process. He was no longer tied to a chair and his mouth was void of any duct tape. In fact, he wasn't in a basement anymore. He was in a regular room. He sat up as much as he could and felt the blood on his head. Lifting his hand up, he noticed that he was wearing some shackles that were bolted to the wall he just accidentally banged his head on.

"Trying to escape, Rick," Nick was back in the room, "Not a smart move. You should learn by now that I'm not a man you'd like to cross."

"Shackles? Medieval much?," Castle raised his hands up, referring to his restraints.

"How did you even think that Sullivan's case was connected to Johanna Beckett's?," King was curious.

"There were two letters on the slugs, J and B," Castle replied, "Your guy apparently decided to send a message. It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots."

"I'll have to speak with Johnson about that," King said to himself.

"Why are you still keeping me here? I told you all I know," Castle demanded to know.

"That was before I knew that you were close to Johanna Beckett's daughter," Nick replied, "I've read all the papers, Mr. Castle, I know that you've been shadowing her. I just thought you'd be an annoyance. Never in a million years did I think that you actually _assisted_ in these investigations."

"What? You didn't think that a layman could solve crimes?," Rick asked sarcastically.

Nick chose not to answer that question, but to answer his other question, "You asked why you're still being held, Rick, and it's because you're leverage."

"Leverage? For whom?," Castle asked, praying he wrong.

"For Detective Kate Beckett," King replied, "Who else? This way, I'll be able to kill two birds with one stone… actually, with one bullet."

"You leave her alone," Castle attempted to stand up, but the short length of the chains pulled him back down. Not to mention, he was also a little woozy from his head injury.

"Now, why would I want to do that?," Nick walked right up to Castle, but far enough away so Castle wouldn't be able to touch him if he tried, "I never leave loose ends. Anybody who goes poking around my business, digging up information they shouldn't even be looking at in the first place, need to be eliminated."

"So, that's why you ordered the hit," Castle was struck with an epiphany, "She was a lawyer, she was getting too close to exposing you."

"Smart man," King nodded, "And her daughter was getting dangerously close to uncovering my organization as well, until she gained some smarts and backed off of her mother's case… then last year, Coonan caught a case of stupid and murdered his brother in her district. Detective Beckett was put on the case and you two figured out he was the killer. I'm grateful he was smart enough to at least not give away my name before he died."

"You wanted to kill her then?," Castle had to know.

"Yes, but some other members of my little group convinced me that it wouldn't be too wise," King replied, "She was too connected to a famous mystery novelist and her death would cause too much publicity."

"So, now you kidnapped me," Castle didn't understand, "You don't think that my disappearance hasn't hit the news already? You've brought more attention to your organization now more than ever. What about trying to keep everything on the down-low?"

"I _fired_ that particular member," King answered. The literal meaning to King's statement wasn't lost on Castle, "My organization will still be secret even with the death of you two… it was all the work of a disgruntled law partner of Charles Sullivan. And after realizing what he'd done, he killed himself."

"You're framing your own hired hand," Castle shook his head in disbelief.

"It needs to be done," King shrugged his shoulder, "Like I said, I don't leave any loose ends, in my business, you can't afford to. I'll be back in an hour or so, we're gonna make a little video to give your detective girlfriend a clue as to where we are so she can come and try to rescue you sooner."

"Leave her alone. She doesn't know about you or anything you've done. I'm the one that knows all of your dirty little secrets. You've told me," Castle started, "Just kill me and leave her alone."

"You must really love her," Nick shook his head, "Only a man that in love would risk his own life to try and save his woman."

"So, will you leave her alone?," Castle grew a little hopeful, gulping slightly, and raised up a little to stand on his knees.

King seemed to think about it and walked up to Castle, bent down, punched Castle square in the jaw causing him to bite his lip, making it bleed, to match his forehead, "Not on your life, sport… and that was to make sure you look pretty for the camera."

"You know you're not going to get away with any of this," Castle gritted his teeth. He knew that Kate was doing everything she could to find him, and in the process, she was walking right into a trap with him as the bait.

"I know you write for a living, Richard," Nick replied. He leaned in close to Castle, grabbing each side of Castle's head forcibly, a gun in his right hand, "But if you could avoid all the clichés, I'd appreciate it."

He let go of Castle's head with a little force, knocking Castle backward on his butt. Nick slammed the door shut, leaving Castle alone with his thoughts.

"Kate, wherever you are, I hope you're safe," Rick was fighting tears.

* * *

**Castle's Loft**

_"Castle!," Beckett yelled for Castle down a long hallway, running, "Castle! Where are you?"_

_The hallway felt like it went on forever. Kate kept running, she finally reached the door and whipped it open. Once more, she ran through darkness, yelling for Castle, "Rick?"_

_"Kate!," Castle yelled. It echoed, sounding like his voice was coming from everywhere at once. Suddenly, the lights switched on. Beckett whipped around to see Castle. He looked like he was chained to a wall by shackles, "Kate!"_

_"I'm coming, Castle," Kate was breathless._

_"Kate!," Castle's eyes widened, his arm stretched out, reaching for her, "NO!"_

_Beckett whipped around and found herself staring down a barrel of a gun. A shot rang out._ Kate sat straight up in bed in a cold sweat. Her heart was pounding. She had another dream about Castle and this one felt more real than the one she had when she dozed off at the precinct.

"Kate! Are you all right?," Alexis came rushing into the room.

"What?," Beckett was still wiping away the last bits of sleep, "Yeah, I'm fine, Alexis. I was just having a nightmare."

"You were yelling Dad's name," Alexis still looked worried.

"I'm just worried about him," Beckett explained, "I'm sorry if I scared you."

"It's okay," Alexis assured her, "I just wanted to make sure you okay."

"I'm fine. How about you?," Kate rubbed Alexis' arm.

"I don't think I've gotten any sleep," Alexis replied, truthfully, "I'm too worried about my Dad. Why haven't you guys had any leads yet?"

Beckett sighed and looked at the clock. It was 4:30 in the morning. She turned back to Alexis, "We're doing everything we can, sweetie. Agent Shaw told everyone to get some rest, but I'm sure that she stayed on it all night. I'm sure she found something by now."

"Yeah?," Alexis needed some reassurance.

"Yeah," Kate nodded. A second later, Kate's phone buzzed. She put up a hand to excuse herself from Alexis and answered it, "Jordan? What is it? Did you find something?"

Every few seconds, Alexis watched as Kate nodded and answered questions. After a few minutes, she finally hung up and she could ask everything she wanted, "What did she have to say? Did she find my Dad? Are you going down to the precinct now? Can I come? Can Gram?"

"Okay, in order," Beckett put her fingers up, "She said she found a connection in our cases that might help us get a lead on Nick King and hopefully your father. Shaw didn't say anything about me coming down, but I am going to and I think you and your grandmother should stay here."

"Are you sure?," Alexis looked like she really wanted to go, "Because I wouldn't mind going down to the precinct this early."

"No way, Alexis," Beckett shook her head, "You're going to go to school today. Your dad would never forgive me if he found out that you skipped school two days in a row. I remember when he made you go back to school last year when we were investigating the murder of Hayley Blue."

Alexis let out a long sigh, "Fine. I hate being a kid. I can't wait until I grow up and I can make my own decisions without the approval of adults."

"Don't rush yourself, Alexis," Kate started scooting out of the bed, "Enjoy your youth while you can. Do me a favor and tell your grandmother where I went so she doesn't worry."

"I will and Kate?," Alexis asked from the doorway.

"Yeah?," Beckett looked up.

"Do you think he's really okay?," Alexis asked. Kate opened her mouth to respond, but Alexis felt the need to explain herself, "I mean, I know I keep asking that question and I know you keep telling me that he's okay, but I'm not naïve… I know how some of these sorts of cases turn out and I don't want anything sugar-coated for my benefit. Please, just tell me straight out if you think he's really all right."

"I think he _will_ be all right," Beckett clarified, honestly, "I can't guarantee that he isn't hurt, but we'll find him in time."

"Thanks, Kate," Alexis appreciated it, "But, um, Detective? Before you head down to the precinct, don't you think you should change out of my Dad's clothes first?"

"I probably should, shouldn't I?," Beckett gave a sheepish smile at Alexis' nod.

**TBC**

* * *

See? I ended on a more humorous note... :P And King has explained some things, I hope it made sense. Things are finally moving forward with the case. What did you guys think of Kate's dream? That scene looked a little familiar, didn't it? Is that dream prophetic? You'll just have to keep reading to find out. ;) I hope this story is still keeping everyone on the edge of their seats. :P Oh, and just so you guys know, I've been trying to brainstorm for a new Castle story. I have an idea, but I'm not sure if I should write it or not - I might try to finish my new Smallville story first, or I'll work on them at the same time. It all depends on how much time I'll have time to write over my winter break. ;) In the meantime, please comment on this! I love reading all your reviews. Thanks to you guys, you've made this story the most reviewed story of ALL my stories. :D

Thanks to those of you who are just reading. I appreciate you too! :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed that little comic relief at the end of the last chapter. :D For those of you interested, my classes are going well... and my Organic Chem Lab is going great too. I've got a 90% right now in the class and that's beyond excellent for me in _that_ subject. I'm a Biology girl, not Chemistry. :P Anyway, ya'll don't really care about that, you wanna see chapter 12 of the story! It's about 5 pages again or so in Microsoft Word and this one has a semi-evil cliffhanger - it makes you want more for sure. The next chapter will have a pretty damn evil cliffie, just to warn you. ;) :P Oh, and just to remind you guys... there's only this upcoming chapter, 2 more chapters, and an epilogue left of the story. Enjoy chapter 12!

_Previously in **Habeas Corpses**..._

_"Do you think he's really okay?," Alexis asked. Kate opened her mouth to respond, but Alexis felt the need to explain herself, "I mean, I know I keep asking that question and I know you keep telling me that he's okay, but I'm not naïve… I know how some of these sorts of cases turn out and I don't want anything sugar-coated for my benefit. Please, just tell me straight out if you think he's really all right."_

_"I think he **will** be all right," Beckett clarified, honestly, "I can't guarantee that he isn't hurt, but we'll find him in time."_

_"Thanks, Kate," Alexis appreciated it, "But, um, Detective? Before you head down to the precinct, don't you think you should change out of my Dad's clothes first?"_

_"I probably should, shouldn't I?," Beckett gave a sheepish smile at Alexis' nod._

_

* * *

_

Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 12**

**12th Precinct**

"You know, when I called you, I didn't mean you should come down here right this second," Shaw commented when Beckett entered the war room.

"What did you think I was going to do?," Beckett folded her arms, "What connection did you find between the two cases?"

"I found out that Mr. Sullivan and your mother were looking into the same drug trafficking organization," Shaw replied.

"Why didn't I see that?," Beckett unfolded her arms.

"Probably because you weren't looking into past cases of your mother's, you were just looking into her murder," Shaw replied, "Both Charles Sullivan and your mother were looking into a heroin trafficking scheme and I believe it was part of one of Nick King's rackets. When Sullivan was investigating, he must've come across your mother somewhere along the way and decided to look into her death… little did he know it'd lead to his own."

"You mean to tell me that my mother and Sullivan were killed because they were investigating a heroin trafficking racket?," Beckett couldn't quite believe it.

"Looks like it," Shaw nodded, "Can you still handle this?"

"Don't worry about me, Shaw," Beckett assured her, "I'm fine. My old wound hasn't been closed since last year and I've been able to bear the pain thus far."

"That's not what I mean and you know it, Beckett," Shaw gave her a serious look, "You know I'm talking about Castle."

"What about him?," Beckett turned, mirroring Shaw's stance.

"King's pretty ruthless, if something happens to him," Shaw started, but Kate cut her off, "_Nothing_ is going to happen to him. I'm not going to let it… he's my partner."

Shaw gave her a glance, letting her know the discussion wasn't over, but let it go for now. She mumbled under her breath, "In more ways than one."

"What'd you guys find out?," Ryan came running into the room. Lanie and Esposito were right behind him.

"Did you call everybody back in, Detective?," Shaw accused Kate.

"I didn't call anybody. I came down here when you called me," Beckett shook her head.

"It wasn't Kate," Lanie said, "Alexis called us."

"So, what did you find out?," Esposito wanted to know. Ryan and Lanie looked just as eager.

"Well," Kate started, but was interrupted when her desk phone rang. She shared a look with everyone in the room before running out to her desk with her friends following. Finally, she answered, "Beckett."

_"Hello, Detective Beckett," a voice greeted. Chills ran down Kate's spine._

"Who is this?," Beckett shifted her eyes back and forth. Shaw was already at her side with headphones on. She was armed and ready to trace the call and that's exactly what she was doing.

_"Oh… just a friend," he replied._

"Where's Richard Castle, King?," Beckett had a gut feeling that was who she was talking to.

_"Aww, you figured me out," King replied, "Ricky here said you were clever."_

Bile rose up in Kate's throat. The irony that this was Castle's father wasn't lost on her when he used that nickname, but she was the only one in the current situation who knew this bit of information, "Leave him alone… just tell us where you are and this will be over soon."

_"You got one of those things right," Nick smirked, "Be ready at your computer in the next minute… I've got a surprise for you." _

_"KATE! Don't-," Castle yelled in the background before King hung up._

"Could you get a trace?," Beckett asked Shaw.

"He's good," Shaw shook her head with a long sigh, "He must have a lot of people to re-route the call. I'm getting at least a dozen locations. Beckett, you better boot your computer up."

"Right," Beckett moved the mouse around to wake her computer up out of its hibernation mode.

"What did King say?," Ryan asked.

"He said that I'd better be ready at my computer in a minute for a surprise," Kate looked worried. She could hear the distress in Castle's voice when he yelled for her before the call ended. And what was he going to ask her not to do?

"Look," Esposito pointed to her screen as a video popped up.

Kate's eyes widened in pure horror – Castle was shackled to the wall, just like in her dream. She gulped and listened to what King had to say on the tape.

_"Hi there, Katie," King waved, standing far enough away from Castle so he wouldn't try anything. He had a gun in his other hand aimed right for Castle's head, "Ricky, don't be rude. Say hi to your partner."_

_"Kate," Castle started. He shifted his eyes to King, knowing that if he tried to warn her, he'd be killed right before her eyes and he didn't want that – especially since he didn't know whether or not his daughter might be watching. He licked his lips, his voice sounded hoarse as if he'd been crying, "Hi, Kate."_

_"He hasn't been very talkative," Nick looked back to the camera as if Castle's reluctance to speak needed explanation, "I just figured it wasn't very fair of me to not give any clues to our whereabouts. I'm a fair man, if anything, so I thought I'd send this little video greeting as a way to drop a clue, even your chances so-to-speak, and if you don't figure it out soon… boom."_

The video abruptly ended with Castle getting a kick to the chest once the video went dark. Kate looked up at her friends to see their reactions. They were just as stunned and apparently scared as she was. Shaw immediately went into FBI agent-mode, "All right, since my team isn't here right now, you four are all what I got until I can call them in. Get into the war room and do everything you can to try and triangulate their position."

"Right," Esposito and Ryan jogged off to do as they were instructed.

"Was there anything in that video that might give a clue to where they are?," Lanie asked. Kate dragged the time bar at the bottom of the screen a little farther back, just as Nick was about to kick Castle in the chest.

"I don't see any windows in view to give us some area," Shaw shook her head, "It's just solid wall."

"Maybe he's at one of his old hideouts? A guy like that has to have a hideout, right?," Beckett tried.

"I'll see if I can find anything while I call my men in," Shaw replied, "In the meantime, the rest of you should try and figure out if there's some sort of clue in there to tell us their location."

Without another word, Shaw headed off to get to researching, and Lanie and Kate got up to join Ryan and Esposito in the war room to replay the video to figure out the site. All business when she entered the room, she asked her partners, "Any part of the audio giving away anything? A subway? Train? Anything?"

"We didn't hear anything too significant. It's not like last time," Ryan shook his head.

"What about the wall, can't that give a clue?," Lanie tried.

"The wall?," Beckett wanted her to clarify and that's exactly what she did, "Yeah, it doesn't look like concrete. Maybe it's special. It looks a little like marble to me."

"If it is unique enough, maybe we could narrow down his locations," Esposito saw where she was going with it. His fingers flew over the keyboard, the smart board zoomed in on the wall and started to analyze the make of it, "Looks like it's custom-made. All buildings for that district have that type of marble wall somewhere in its structure."

"Well, that narrows our search down a little, but that's still too much of an area to cover for us," Ryan commented at the blocks of New York that appeared on the screen.

"Maybe there's something else," Kate bit her lip, "Let's watch the video again, maybe there's something in the audio we missed."

"You want to try the background audio again?," Esposito asked, "We didn't hear any train or anything to suggest they're near a station."

"Yeah, but that was before we narrowed it down to this district," Beckett replied, "Do it, maybe we'll get lucky."

Esposito played back the video, taking Castle and King's voices out, so all they would hear was the background. After a few seconds they could hear _something_. Beckett got a glimmer of hope in her eyes, "There, what's that? You didn't hear that before?"

"Hear what?," Esposito didn't hear anything.

"It sounds like traffic," Beckett squinted her eyes, trying to pin-point the exact sound.

"Traffic in New York City doesn't exactly narrow anything down, Kate," Ryan commented.

"It doesn't sound like a busy street though, Ryan," Beckett replied and took over the controls on the computer, "It sounds like traffic down a side-street."

She typed a few commands into the computer and everybody heard the few cars down the street. Lanie thought of something, "Do you think he could have Castle at his own house?"

"Who knows with this guy," Beckett shook her head. Shaw came into the war room with Avery fastening his tie, "You guys find any more useful information from that video?"

"Just that we narrowed it down to a single district thanks to the unique marble wall in the background and the background audio leads me to believe that they're down a side-street somewhere," Beckett replied, "Maybe King is bold enough to be holding Castle in his own house."

"Possibly," Shaw started thinking out loud, "We've never been able to pin him down before. We've been looking for a business, but maybe he runs his organization from his own house – like a family business."

"It's not a family business," Beckett immediately replied in defense of Castle.

"I beg your pardon," Shaw furrowed her brows.

"I just meant that King doesn't really strike me as a family man," Beckett covered for her slip, "He seems more like a loner than anything else."

Shaw shot her a glance, "I haven't had a lot of time to profile him, but you sound right."

"I don't think we have a lot of time to delve into his psyche right now," Esposito commented.

Shaw reluctantly agreed to that and looked to the video. Something caught her eye, "Is Castle saying something here?"

"Where?," Kate walked up to the screen.

"Here," Shaw was pointing to Castle. His mouth was open in the form of a word.

"The only thing we heard Castle say on the audio was saying hi to Kate," Ryan answered.

"Play the video again and take King's audio out," Shaw ordered. Ryan's fingers flew over the keyboard. The video played again, but all they heard Castle say was what he did before, but his mouth was still moving with nothing coming out.

"Is he whispering?," Lanie wondered.

"No," Avery scooted Ryan out of the way, "He's mouthing something. Fortunately, I can read lips."

Avery zoomed in on Castle and played the video again, this time the complete focus was on Castle. When Castle mouthed the words again, Avery relayed the information, "He's trying to tell us, 'It's a trap'."

"A trap?," Lanie was confused, "A trap for who? Us?"

"Most likely," Beckett sighed, "It doesn't matter though… we're trained. We'll be ready for anything King can dish out. As soon as we find out where they are, we make our move."

"Couldn't have said that better myself," Shaw smiled and took out a file, "And I think I might know where they are…"

**TBC**

* * *

What'd you guys think of that video? ;) Oh and just so you all know, I have absolutely NO idea about any sort of construction in New York and any information for that section is completely made up and was just inserted to move the story along. I'm sure it won't take away from the enjoyment of the story, but I just wanted to let you know so there wouldn't be any discrepancies about it. ;) In the meantime, tell me what you thought! Was the end of this chapter that bad of a cliffhanger? ;) Please comment on this! I love reading all your reviews and it'll give me something to look forward to after my long 4-hour lab today. At this moment, this story is only 3 reviews away from having 200 reviews! I can't believe it! Thank you all so much! And this story is #4 in the most hit story of all of my published stories. It even beat out some of my Smallville stories. :P I wonder, if Castle fans can make it #1. :P Please review! I love reading them all so much!

Thanks to those of you who are just reading this. I really appreciate you too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	14. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: *tip-toes into thread* Sorry for the incredible delay in updating today, everybody. I went to go see _Megamind_ with some friends and then I did most of my homework and didn't get a chance to update until now. ;) You all are right. Even though they know it's a trap, that's not gonna stop them! ;) :) I'm glad everybody is still enjoying the story. We're nearing the climax of this "episode" now and I really do hope you all enjoy. After this chapter, there's only one left and the epilogue. Just to warn you, there's a pretty big cliffhanger at the end of this chapter, so don't say I didn't warn you. :P This chapter is only about 4 pages long, but it's full of action. Please enjoy and tell me what you think!

_Previously in __**Habeas Corpses**..._

_"Play the video again and take King's audio out," Shaw ordered. Ryan's fingers flew over the keyboard. The video played again, but all they heard Castle say was what he did before, but his mouth was still moving with nothing coming out._

_"Is he whispering?," Lanie wondered._

_"No," Avery scooted Ryan out of the way, "He's mouthing something. Fortunately, I can read lips."_

_Avery zoomed in on Castle and played the video again, this time the complete focus was on Castle. When Castle mouthed the words again, Avery relayed the information, "He's trying to tell us, 'It's a trap'."_

_"A trap?," Lanie was confused, "A trap for who? Us?"_

_"Most likely," Beckett sighed, "It doesn't matter though… we're trained. We'll be ready for anything King can dish out. As soon as we find out where they are, we make our move."_

_"Couldn't have said that better myself," Shaw smiled and took out a file, "And I think I might know where they are…"_

_

* * *

_

Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 13**

**Somewhere in the suburbs…**

"I hope your detective girlfriend is as clever as you think she is, Rick," King commented, taking the camera out of its stand.

Castle remained quiet. King let out an amused laugh and left the room with Johnson taking his place. Once Castle saw the lawyer, he figured now was his best chance to try and manipulate him to help, "Johnson? You know that this isn't going to end well for you, right?"

"King has a pretty good record of getting away with things," Johnson remarked, "I'm not too worried."

"How'd you get involved with him in the first place?," Castle asked, "You two don't exactly swim in the same social pond."

Johnson gave him a look like he was crazy that he'd give up information like that, but Castle kept prodding, "Come on," Castle lifted up his wrists in the cuffs shackled to the wall, "Do I really look like I'm getting out of this situation anytime soon? You said yourself that King is good."

He looked like he was deciding to answer Castle. After a minute or so, he finally did, "I needed the money."

"You needed the money?," Castle didn't believe it, "You're a lawyer. All you do is make money. Why would you go to a life of crime-?"

"I didn't go to a _life_ of crime," Johnson cut Castle off, "It was a one-time thing… then he offered more money to kidnap you, so I had to take it. And all we lawyers do is not _just_ make money."

"Coulda fooled me," Castle leaned up against the wall and licked his lip. The blood was starting to dry now.

"Zip it, Castle," Johnson retorted, "Money and my job are all I have… I've got nobody and nothing else. So, if I have to dabble in the underworld to get more money and get away with it – great."

"You're not going to get away with it, Johnson," Castle replied, "He's going to pin everything on you. He's not just going to kill me. He's going to kill you too."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Johnson didn't believe him.

"Don't believe me? Fine," Castle waved his hand, "Just think… did King give you any plans as to what you should do after all of this is over?"

Johnson hesitated, "We're talking about it after everything."

"Whatever you want to believe," Castle rolled his eyes.

"Just shut up, you don't know what you're talking about!," Johnson was getting defensive.

"So, you mean to tell me that a stand-up guy such as yourself doesn't have a problem against killing two people? Three, if you count your partner?," Castle remarked.

"I do what has to be done in this world," Johnson replied, "Charles was getting too close for comfort. That wasn't just for King. That was to protect me too."

"Protect you?," Castle asked, "Were you involved in something else?"

"Why am I even having this conversation with you?," Johnson stopped himself from revealing more information, "You work with the police."

"Well, I'm not exactly in the best position to be relaying all this information to the cops, am I?," Castle made a good point.

"This isn't my first brush with crooks," Johnson revealed, "I know what I'm dealing with… and if all else fails, when everything goes down, I can just plead habeas corpus."

"Whatever you say," Castle looked smug, "Because to me, it looks like King plans to kill you with me."

Before Johnson could reply, King came back in the room, "Having a stimulating conversation in here, I see."

Castle chastised himself. Of course he'd be listening in, _"Damn, so much for manipulating Johnson into anything."_

King knelt down to Castle, "Nice try, Castle, but Johnson knows I would never do anything like that to him."

Johnson nodded at King before leaving the room. King looked back to Castle and cocked his head to the side, "Now, why did you go and put those thoughts into his head for?"

"I thought he'd deserve as much as a chance as I do," Castle replied.

"That's not saying much," Nick shook his head, "I don't leave loose ends anywhere."

"So you keep saying. You told me to lay off the cliché statements, but you seem to still use enough of them for the both of us. You're every bit a cliché bad guy. All you're missing is a thin black mustache to twirl," Castle retorted.

King shook his head in amusement, "You're something else, kid."

"So I've been told," Castle was glaring holes in him.

"Sit tight, Rick," King stood up, raising his gun, "I'm sure your detective girlfriend will be here soon, try to save you, and when she does, it'll be the end of the both of you."

* * *

**12th Precinct**

"Got him," Shaw was at the computer, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

"You got an address?," Kate got excited.

"Yup," Shaw smiled, "And it looks like your instincts were right, detective. He's got Castle in his house… not a smart move, but when you're a guy who's never been caught at anything, it's not a big deal."

"Good, let's gear up," Beckett jumped into action. Ryan and Esposito were hot on her tail.

"I'm coming, but I pray my services won't be needed," Lanie followed her friends.

"Hold on, Beckett," Shaw stopped Beckett from moving any further.

"Every second we stall here is another second away from getting Castle back," Kate argued, trying to push her way past her, "Why are you stalling?"

"I'm not stalling," Shaw replied, "I just don't want you barging in there without your emotions in check."

"I'm fine," Beckett assured her yet again, "He has my partner. Believe me, I've got my emotions in check."

"All right," Shaw stated, "Let's get Castle back."

* * *

**327 Riverside Drive**

"Hey, Nick," Johnson turned away from the window, "I think the police are here."

"Excellent," Nick smiled, looking out the window, "Get back into the other room. I'll be there in a second."

Johnson disappeared into the other room. Just as Shaw, Avery, Beckett, Esposito, and Ryan armed and ready with their 'POLICE' and 'FBI' bulletproof vests made their way over to the house, King left the window to go into the other room. Lanie opted to stay in the van.

"You guys know the plan," Shaw said outside the house, "Avery and I will stay in the front in case anybody tries to make a break for it. Ryan and Esposito are your back-up, Beckett. If we don't hear from you in five minutes, we're coming in."

"We got it," Esposito nodded. Avery and Shaw stayed outside on the porch, their guns held up, at the ready if anybody ran out. Ryan nodded his head to motion for Beckett to lead the way. She nodded an acceptance and jogged into the house, gun in both hands, and her partners faithfully right behind her.

"Marble walls," Ryan observed with a whisper. They moved swiftly through the room and noticed that on the other end of the room, there was only one door. Beckett signaled them that she was moving in. They were right behind her as she twisted the door handle and made her way into the room, her heart pounding in her chest. This was becoming too much like her dream.

"NYPD!," Kate yelled, gun raised.

"Kate?," Castle sat up on his knees, "Kate, get out of here!"

"Castle," Beckett ran up to Castle and knelt down, "Are you all right?"

"I won't be if you stay, you guys have to get out of here," Castle said as Beckett started fiddling with Castle's shackles.

"Where are your captors, Castle?," Esposito asked.

"I don't know, I think they're waiting to strike," Castle replied, "You guys have to get out of here before they kill you."

"We're not going anywhere without you," Beckett replied. She had to set her gun down to try and pick the locks to Castle's restraints. Esposito and Ryan kept their guns up in case King decided to pop out from anywhere.

Everything seemed to be going well, but everybody was on edge – King was nowhere in sight and that was very unnerving. Ryan was starting to get nervous, "Castle? Are you sure you don't know where they went?"

"No," Castle shook his head. His focus was on Beckett trying to open his cuffs around his wrists that were shackled to the wall. The next sound he heard was Esposito and Ryan yelling. His head shot up and Beckett whipped her head around to see them fall to the ground.

**TBC**

* * *

*looks innocent* I told ya'll it was an evil cliffhanger... don't worry, our favorite detective partners Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan will be okay. ;) They finally found Castle! And next chapter, it's time for the face-off. Please comment and tell me what you think. Oh, there's a little Easter egg in this chapter that has to do with one of the actual actors of the show. I wonder if any of you can spot it. :P And to those Smallville fans reading this, there's a familiar line in this chapter... I wonder if any of _you_ can spot it. ;) I love reading all of your reviews. They truly do keep me going. And I hope I'll have some time to actually start another Castle story in the near future! Thank you all soooo much!

Thanks to those of you who are just reading this. I really appreciate you too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: Yes, it was an evil cliffhanger, but you'll see right in the first line that they'll be all right. ;) This is the last chapter of the story before the epilogue. I hope you all like how I wrap things up... I can't believe this story is almost over already. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. And don't forget to drop some love off to the person who made my trailer to this story on Youtube. If you haven't seen it, the link to the trailer is on my profile page. I love it. :D Please reply and tell me what you think!

_Previously in __**Habeas Corpses**..._

_"Where are your captors, Castle?," Esposito asked._

_"I don't know, I think they're waiting to strike," Castle replied, "You guys have to get out of here before they kill you."_

_"We're not going anywhere without you," Beckett replied. She had to set her gun down to try and pick the locks to Castle's restraints. Esposito and Ryan kept their guns up in case King decided to pop out from anywhere._

_Everything seemed to be going well, but everybody was on edge – King was nowhere in sight and that was very unnerving. Ryan was starting to get nervous, "Castle? Are you sure you don't know where they went?"_

_"No," Castle shook his head. His focus was on Beckett trying to open his cuffs around his wrists that were shackled to the wall. The next sound he heard was Esposito and Ryan yelling. His head shot up and Beckett whipped her head around to see them fall to the ground._

**

* * *

**

Now in _Habeas Corpses_...

**Chapter 14**

"Tasers," King smiled, holding one up, "Gotta love em."

"How'd you get around here undetected?," Beckett asked, her eyes alternating from Ryan and Esposito unconscious on the floor to King.

"Never left the house," King shrugged, "I've got a few hidden areas in this house… you must be slipping, Detective. You didn't canvass the area before barging your way in?"

Beckett kept looking to her partners and King noticed, "Don't worry, they'll be fine. They know nothing and I intended to keep it that way. The same can't be said for you though."

Castle continued to shift his cuffs around, left over right and right over left. Kate grabbed her gun again and stood up slowly, "Just come quietly, Mr. King and nobody will get hurt."

"That sounded like a threat," King remarked, "I don't take too kindly to threats."

"He doesn't take too kindly to anything," Castle mumbled, continuing to fiddle with his cuffs.

"Where's Johnson?," Beckett asked, standing in front of Castle as a shield.

"You figure everything out, don't you?," King cocked his head to the side. Johnson stepped inside the room and acknowledged Beckett, "Detective."

"Why, Johnson?," Beckett stalled for time. If they didn't come out soon, Shaw and Avery would come in and everybody would be taken care of, hopefully without any bloodshed, "Why did you get involved with this guy?"

"The money," Johnson shrugged. King pointed to Esposito and Ryan on the floor and Johnson got the hint. One at a time, he dragged them to the other side of the room next to Castle and Beckett.

"So, Detective," King stepped closer to her, his finger tapping the trigger of his gun, "I'm assuming since you're here, you were able to connect Sullivan's case to your mother's case. You know what I did ten years ago."

"Yes," Beckett stood her ground, "You ordered the hit on her… all because she was going to expose you and your little heroin trafficking organization."

"_Little_?," King scoffed, "Now I'm insulted."

"Give it up, King," Beckett was holding her ground, "It's over."

Before King could reply, Castle blurted out, "I swear if you say that it's not over because a man like yourself can't afford to have any loose ends, I'm gonna scream."

"I wasn't going to say that," Nick smirked, "He gets touchy doesn't he? So, Katie… now that you're face-to-face with the man who wanted to make sure your mother was _dead_. What are you going to do?"

Kate stood emotionless, gun drawn and at the ready if he tried to shoot her or Castle behind her.

"You've got nothing to say?," King shook his head, "That's a real pity."

"Actually, I do," Beckett replied and after a brief pause, she remarked, "You're under arrest."

"I do love a good cliché," King said. Castle peeked around Beckett's legs to see King start to tighten his trigger finger as he brought it up. He widened his eyes as King finished his sentence, "And how cliché is it for a detective's last words to be those?"

The next few seconds seemed to progress in slow motion. King pulled the trigger, aiming for Kate and Rick in one shot. Castle managed to get out of his restraints through Beckett's help and what he remembered from the ex-felon, wordsmith Norman Jesup he met last year. He pulled Beckett down, the bullet scarcely missed the two of them by a hair, and shot into the wall. The next second Shaw and Avery burst through the door, guns drawn and shouting, "FBI!"

Avery slapped the handcuffs on Johnson's wrists, "William Johnson, you're under arrest for the murder of Charles Sullivan and the kidnapping of Richard Castle."

He started reading him his rights as Shaw slapped the handcuffs on King's wrists with pleasure, "Nick King, you're under arrest for a multitude of crimes."

"Take him out of here," Beckett stood up, Castle helping her up as they watched Shaw walk King out, reading him his rights too.

"You haven't heard the last of me," King swore as he was led out the door with Avery leading Johnson out.

"You okay, Castle?," Beckett gently brushed his bangs off of his forehead to reveal his gash and dried blood, "What happened?"

"It's nothing," Castle waved, "I'm fine, I'm just glad you're okay. King wouldn't stop talking about how he was going to kill you and me."

"We weren't going to give him that chance," Beckett said. She brought her hand right back up to his forehead, "I still think you should have Lanie look at that."

"I will," Castle assured her, his voice soft.

"How'd you get out of the shackles?," Kate walked around him, over to his previous holding place, breaking their quiet moment.

"Just a little help from you loosening it and some tricks I remembered from Jesup last year," Castle explained.

Beckett and Castle turned their heads when they heard Ryan and Esposito groaning, regaining consciousness, "Nice to see you guys are all right."

"Castle?," Ryan squinted, looking up with his hand to his head.

"What happened?," Esposito looked just like Ryan.

"King hit you two with a taser," Castle told him and Beckett finished, "Shaw and Avery took Johnson and King out of here."

"Why do we always miss all the action?," Esposito rolled his eyes as he got up, "You all right, Castle?"

"As good as could be expected," Castle replied, "You'll have to brief me on how your investigation went on the way home. I'm sure I've got a very worried mother and daughter at home awaiting my safe arrival."

"Not before Lanie checks your injuries, Castle," Kate said, "Don't think I haven't noticed you wincing every minute or so… we saw that kick in the chest, remember? You can call Alexis and Martha before you go home. I'm sure they'll settle for the security of hearing your voice while you get patched up."

* * *

**12th Precinct**

"This is a nasty gash, Castle," Lanie commented as she sutured it up, "How'd you get it?"

"Oh, you know," Castle shrugged with a tough-guy sniff, "Just defending myself."

"No, really?," Lanie stopped suturing.

"I crashed into a wooden table," Castle conceded, "I was bound to a chair by some ropes and I saw the table had some splintered wood. I hopped over to it and lost my balance somehow before crashing into the table and breaking it. I think I might've lost consciousness too."

"Yeah, well thank goodness there's no brain damage; and that explains the rope burns on your wrists," Lanie finished up what she was doing and started to put her medical equipment away, "How relieved were your mother and daughter to hear your voice?"

"Very," Castle touched his new sutures on his forehead, "Alexis practically hugged me through the phone."

"She was really worried about you, Castle," Beckett made her presence known in the room.

"Yeah, well, I had a great team looking for me," Castle smiled, "How did you guys find out Nick King's name anyway? He was the big, bad, untouchable boss Coonan was talking about… nobody really knew his name."

"I don't know," Lanie shrugged. Castle looked to Ryan and Esposito who shrugged as well and Ryan replied, "Beckett's the one that found out."

"Really?," Castle didn't mean to sound so surprised.

"Why are you so surprised, Castle?," Kate folded her arms.

"What? No, I'm not, I just was curious as to how you found out," Castle attempted to defend his shocked reaction.

Before Kate could reply, Shaw came up behind everybody, "Why question great detective work?"

"Agent Shaw, always a pleasure," Castle hopped off of the desk he was sitting on.

"Great to have you back, Castle," Shaw shook Castle's hand, "Thanks to you and this team, we've finally got Nick King in holding."

"He's not getting out of this?," Kate asked. She always feared that the man responsible for her mother's death would somehow catch a break and be out on the streets again.

"Not a chance," Shaw assured her, "There's no way humanly possible he'll be getting out of any of the felonies he's committed."

Castle put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. He knew why she was so worried and he too was relieved that everything and everyone was taken care of as they should be, "Well, if everything is all right here and if I'm all patched up, I think I should head home."

"You all should head home," Shaw stated, "Montgomery is dealing with all the press and the media right now, but he wanted me to tell all of you to take the day off and get some rest."

"I'm fine with that," Ryan lit up, "I haven't had a lot of time to spend with Jenny lately."

"I could use a day off," Esposito agreed.

Kate looked reluctant and before she could object, Shaw cut her off, "Captain Montgomery wanted to especially make sure that _you_ take the day off, Detective."

"I don't really-," Kate started to object.

"Nonsense, Beckett," Shaw cut her off again, "You've been up longer than anybody else including me – and I burned the midnight oil. Your captain told me how you were up way before you even got Sullivan's case."

"Which I'm happy to say has been taken care of with Johnson arrested," Beckett nodded.

"Exactly, now take the day off," Shaw ordered and shook Kate's hand, "Take it easy."

"I'll try," Beckett returned the favor. After shaking everybody else's hands, Shaw once again left the precinct with her team right behind her, taking the smart board with them.

"You really do need to take it easy, Kate," Lanie agreed, "Go home… there will be plenty of cases tomorrow after you're rested."

Everybody bid their goodbyes and went their separate ways until Castle and Beckett were the only ones left standing by her desk. Castle broke the silence, "Thank you."

"For what?," Beckett furrowed her brows. Was he seriously thanking her for saving him? He didn't need to show any sort of gratitude. He'd do the same for her and has.

"Thank you for being you," Castle grinned, "I don't think I would've made it if anybody else was on the case."

"You're welcome," Kate returned his smile. Now that everything was wrapped up, Kate knew that Castle had to know about King's paternal identity, "Hey, Castle? Would you mind if I went back to your loft with you?"

"You want to come home with me, Detective?," Castle teased, "Should I be worried that you're going to try and take advantage of me?"

"I wouldn't be too worried, Castle," Beckett folded her arms, "After all, your mother will be there."

"True," Castle pouted as he followed her to the elevators and mumbled, "Maybe I should consider changing the locks."

**TBC**

* * *

Castle's safe and sound. The bad guys have been taken care of... all that remains is, well, you know. I hope you guys will enjoy the epilogue. I loved writing this story and I hope I did right by all the characters and that I was able to maintain the flow of an episode with everyone in-character. :D Hopefully, I'll be writing another Castle story some time in the near future and when I do, I hope you all will tune in to it. ;) Please tell me what you guys think! I love seeing messages in my inbox from you guys. :) You guys have made this story the most reviewed published story of mine ever and you're nearing making it #2 in the most hits. You guys are incredible. :)

Thanks to those of you who are just reading this. I really appreciate you too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	16. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: I can't believe it, but it's time to post the epilogue to _Habeas Corpses_. It's not that long, maybe about four pages, but it says a lot. ;) :) It has been an amazing ride and I am so very proud that this story has been enjoyed by so many readers. When I had the initial idea for the plot, I was hesitant about even writing it, but it turned out that I really liked the outcome. This was my first bout in the Castle fanfiction world and I know it won't be my last. Thank you to all you readers and reviewers out there for taking the time to actually read this little gem. And thanks to my friend who made that amazing trailer to go with this story. She unknowingly captured a LOT of the feelings of the story without even reading it. She's just that awesome. ;) Well, without further adieu, I give you the conclusion to _Habeas Corpses._ Please tell me your thoughts. I love them. :D

_Previously in __**Habeas Corpses**..._

_Everybody bid their goodbyes and went their separate ways until Castle and Beckett were the only ones left standing by her desk. Castle broke the silence, "Thank you."_

_"For what?," Beckett furrowed her brows. Was he seriously thanking her for saving him? He didn't need to show any sort of gratitude. He'd do the same for her and has._

_"Thank you for being you," Castle grinned, "I don't think I would've made it if anybody else was on the case."_

_"You're welcome," Kate returned his smile. Now that everything was wrapped up, Kate knew that Castle had to know about King's paternal identity, "Hey, Castle? Would you mind if I went back to your loft with you?"_

_"You want to come home with me, Detective?," Castle teased, "Should I be worried that you're going to try and take advantage of me?"_

_"I wouldn't be too worried, Castle," Beckett folded her arms, "After all, your mother will be there."_

_"True," Castle pouted as he followed her to the elevators and mumbled, "Maybe I should consider changing the locks."_

Now the conclusion of _Habeas Corpses_...

**Epilogue**

**Castle's Loft**

"DAD!," Alexis ran into Castle in the biggest attack-hug she could muster, squeezing him tightly, "You're all right."

"I won't be if you don't loosen your grip, sweetie," Castle croaked out. He was still a little tender from all the hits and kicks he took. Lanie patched him up as best she could. Alexis immediately loosened her hug, but didn't let go. After a moment passed, Castle realized, "Wait a minute… why aren't you in school?"

"Yeah, I thought I told you to go to school today," Beckett added, sounding every bit of a mother.

"I did," Alexis replied, "The teachers sent me home once Dad called me. They said I should spend the day at home with my reunited family."

"Smart teachers," Castle squeezed his daughter a little tighter.

"Richard!," Martha came down the stairs and wrapped her son up in a hug once Alexis let go of him, "Oh, my boy."

"I hope the press didn't cause too much trouble for you guys," Castle started a conversation as everyone headed into the living room.

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Beckett assured him.

"I was talking to my daughter," Castle clarified.

"Oh," Beckett was a little embarrassed, "Sorry."

"They didn't give us any trouble," Alexis let him know, "Detective Beckett and everyone else helped ward them off."

Castle stretched back on to the couch with a long sigh, "God, it feels so good to be home… if I had to listen to another one of King's stories about his schemes or another cliché, I was going to scream."

Kate, Alexis, and Martha all caught one another's glances. They had to tell him sooner or later. Before anybody could speak up, Castle brought his head back up from the arm of the couch to look at Kate, "You still didn't tell me how you found out his name. I mean, I know you're a brilliant detective and all, but that name had to come from somewhere."

"It came from me," Martha revealed.

Rick sat up, "What? How did you know who he was?"

"I knew him," Martha explained, sitting down next to Castle, and put her hand on his knee, "I knew him long ago."

"I'm not going to like where this is going, am I?," Castle had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach and when he looked up to see Alexis and Kate's expressions, he knew the answer. He licked his lips and asked slowly, "H-How did you know him?"

"We met while I was traveling for one of my shows," Martha started to explain, "He didn't used to be like the way he is now… he was a sweet man."

"Were you two-?," Castle had a sinking feeling as to where his mother was headed with this explanation.

Martha looked to Kate and Alexis for strength. They both nodded for her to continue. Rick's gaze never left his mother, "Richard… Nick King is your father."

"I'm sorry, what?," Castle's eyebrows shot up. Martha gave him a moment to let the information soak in. Castle was at a loss for words, but he managed, "But, uh, I… I thought you said you didn't know who my father was?"

"I was trying to protect you, honey," Martha patted his knee, "I didn't lie about loving him a lifetime, Richard. He was a different man before that world corrupted him."

"Did he know about me?," Castle was too curious to not ask; especially after all that had transpired between the two of them.

"No," Martha shook her head, leaving her hand on his knee.

"It's okay, Dad," Alexis joined her family on the couch, on the other side of Castle. Kate remained standing, looking unsure what to do with herself.

Castle stared blankly ahead. He couldn't wrap his mind around what Martha just told him. That maniac was his _father_.He looked up at Kate, "You knew?"

"Your mother told me when I got his name from her," Beckett replied with a shrug and stepped forward, "And I told her I thought you had a right to know."

"I appreciate it," Castle nodded and looked to each woman with a nod and stared blankly once again, "I just don't really believe it."

"Believe what?," Alexis asked, "That he's your father?"

"No, not that, I mean, yes that, but mostly I don't believe," Castle shook his head slightly and looked up to Kate, "that my father is responsible for ordering the hit on your mother… that my father caused you so much pain. I-I really don't know what to say."

"Castle, you're not blaming yourself, are you?," Beckett furrowed her brows, walking closer to him.

"Why not? First I drudge up your mother's case when you asked me not to and then Coonan came out of the woodwork," Castle stood up, "And now _this_… I just seem to be a magnet of pain for you."

"Rick," Beckett started. Castle knew she was serious if she was using his first name, "I'm not blaming you for something that was completely and utterly out of your control… if it wasn't for you, I would've never been able to _finally_ close my mother's case. I owe you a lot."

"But, it was my _dad_," Castle started, but Alexis cut him off, "He's not your dad, Dad."

Castle gave her a confused look before she explained herself, "I mean, yeah he's your biological father, but he's not your _dad_. He can never be your dad. He didn't raise you or teach you to play catch, take you to baseball games, or teach you right from wrong… love you. Nick King is just a father… _you're_ a dad."

"He's not a part of this family," Martha added, "And he never will be."

Beckett felt a little out of place when the three of them shared a group hug, Castle sandwiched in between his mother and daughter.

Alexis noticed Kate's hesitancy and spoke up, "We're _all_ a part of this family, including you, Kate."

"Yes, Beckett, join my crazy family in a group hug," Castle smiled. Beckett rolled her eyes as he stood up, pulling her into a hug. He whispered in her ear, "Thank you for everything, Kate."

"Now that everybody's safe and sound, I think I should get some rest," Alexis stood up, "I'll finally be able to get some sleep now."

"I think we should all get some rest," Martha agreed, "A good nap will benefit us all."

Martha and Alexis left the detective and the author alone in the living room after giving them both a hug respectively. Kate let the silence linger for a few seconds before cutting it, "I guess that now everything's out in the open I should head home and get some of that ordered rest."

"Nonsense, you're not going anywhere, Detective," Castle shook his head, "If you've been up for as long as Agent Shaw said you were, there's no way I'm letting you leave here until you're fully rested… I can take the couch and you can take my bed."

"Oh no, I wouldn't want to take your bed again," Kate shook her head and then her eyes widened when she realized what she just revealed to him.

"Again?," Castle raised a curious eyebrow, a teasing glint in his voice, "What do you mean _again_, Detective?"

"I spent the night here last night and your daughter suggested I take your bed to be comfortable," Beckett tried to explain herself.

"So, my bed was just right?," Castle teased.

"What?," Beckett laughed.

"You know, Goldilocks," Castle explained, "Your desk at work was too hard, my couch was too soft, and my bed was just right."

Kate shook her head with an amused laugh and then, just as abruptly, looked down. Castle noticed her immediate change in expression. She looked like she was fighting tears, "Kate? What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Kate tried to pass it off and turned around, putting her hands on her hips and then folded her arms.

"_Kate_," Castle didn't give up, putting his hand on her arm, "What's wrong?"

She turned back around, "I wasn't sure how we were going to find you. After seeing King's profile and his track record… what he was responsible for to be done to Sullivan and my mother. I wasn't sure if we'd find you severely injured… or even alive. And I didn't want to let somebody I lo- _care_ about down again."

"You care about me?," Castle let out a teasing smile to lighten the mood. He let her little slip slide. Beckett just gave him a watery smile as he continued, embracing her in a tight hug, "I'm right here, Kate. You didn't let me down and you most certainly didn't let your mother down. Her case is completely solved. You can rest easy now… and I'm not going anywhere. As long as you want me to stick around, I will."

"Good," Beckett nodded, wiping away the remainder of her tears, "I guess we should get some rest then now, huh?"

"Yeah," Castle agreed, "Take my room. I'll be fine out here."

Rick started moving the pillows around on his couch so he would be more comfortable to rest. He stopped and turned around when he heard Kate address him, "Castle, I'm going to ask you something and for this next minute, please don't act like yourself… promise?"

Castle nodded. He knew when there was a time for teasing and when to be serious.

"Could you come into your room with me and lay down next to me?," Beckett looked like a little girl asking her father permission to take a cookie from the cookie jar. Before Rick tried to respond, Kate felt the need to explain herself, "I just need you there to reassure myself that you're really here and you're not off somewhere being tortured or killed by King. I just need you near me so I know that you're truly all right, safe and sound."

"Of course," Castle replied. He'd do whatever she'd tell him to do.

"_No_ funny stuff," Beckett emphasized with her pointer finger. There was the Beckett he knew and lo- _cared_ for.

"I give you my word," Castle said. They made their way to Castle's bedroom, Beckett leading the way. Kate took off her shoes and laid on the same side she was the previous night. Castle crawled up on the bed and laid on his back next to her, "Am I fine right here?"

"Thanks for not making a big deal about this," Kate smiled at him. Castle smiled in return as she continued, "_But_… if you tell _any_ of our friends about this, I _will_ find a way to make you regret it, Castle."

"My lips are sealed," Castle zipped his lips. Kate gave him an affirmative nod and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, they both fell fast asleep and during their slumber, Kate inched closer to Rick until she snuggled into him. Her head rested on his chest, the thudding of his strong heartbeat reassured her as he wrapped his arm around her. For the first time in years, Kate Beckett slept peacefully.

**THE END**

* * *

Well, that's all I wrote. I hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Just a little thing I wanted to mention: I'm especially proud of the last line. It's like it sums Kate up all in one sentence to have everything resolved for her mother. I know some of you might have been expecting more of Castle's thoughts on King being his father, but I felt like it should've been an "in the moment" type feeling where he's just and shock. Knowing Castle, his main concern would be for Kate and I hope I articulated that okay. This story was more focused on Kate and I think my next story will focus more on Rick. :) Oh, and if we could get a scene like what I wrote here at the end on the show, I think we could all be _very_ happy - just saying. ;) Please tell me what you think! I wanna know! I hope to write more Castle stories in the near future and I hope you all will be able to read them. :)

Thank you to those of you who just read this story as well. I really appreciate you too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


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